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Defeat   /dɪfˈit/   Listen
noun
Defeat  n.  
1.
An undoing or annulling; destruction. (Obs.) "Upon whose property and most dear life A damned defeat was made."
2.
Frustration by rendering null and void, or by prevention of success; as, the defeat of a plan or design.
3.
An overthrow, as of an army in battle; loss of a battle; repulse suffered; discomfiture; opposed to victory.


verb
Defeat  v. t.  (past & past part. defeated; pres. part. defeating)  
1.
To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. (Obs.) "His unkindness may defeat my life."
2.
To render null and void, as a title; to frustrate, as hope; to deprive, as of an estate. "He finds himself naturally to dread a superior Being that can defeat all his designs, and disappoint all his hopes." "The escheators... defeated the right heir of his succession." "In one instance he defeated his own purpose."
3.
To overcome or vanquish, as an army; to check, disperse, or ruin by victory; to overthrow.
4.
To resist with success; as, to defeat an assault. "Sharp reasons to defeat the law."
Synonyms: To baffle; disappoint; frustrate.





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"Defeat" Quotes from Famous Books



... fore-ordained defeat came over him, as he had never known before. He was amazed at the violence of his ...
— The Brimming Cup • Dorothy Canfield Fisher
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... light-hearted, joyus race, tho'? How they can sing 'nd dance 'nd play hades! When I war heah they hed a review uv ther soldiers, 'nd how ther hull town turned out 'nd yelled 'nd yelled 'nd sung ther Marseilles, 'nd yet ther scars and humilitation uv ther mighty defeat war still fresh upon them. They'r ez hopeful ez ther Irish, same time they is a great deal closer traders. Ther stranger pays fur eny bow they make, for any smile they give. Still, they is country-loving; ...
— The Wedge of Gold • C. C. Goodwin
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... After his defeat at Lincoln (20th May, 1217), by William the Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, one of Henry's guardians, Louis beat a hasty retreat to London and wrote to his father, the French king, to send him military assistance, ...
— London and the Kingdom - Volume I • Reginald R. Sharpe
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... about them, Geordie, and though they are better than the others, I am not satisfied with these optical delusions, as I call them. Now, I put it to you, boys, is it natural for lads from fifteen to eighteen to command ships, defeat pirates, outwit smugglers, and so cover themselves with glory, that Admiral Farragut invites them to dinner, saying, 'Noble boy, you are an honour to your country!' Or, if the hero is in the army, he has hair-breadth escapes and adventures enough in one small volume to turn ...
— Eight Cousins • Louisa M. Alcott
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... heavy, and rarely sleep much), are determined to have a walking match at Boston on the last day of February to celebrate the arrival of the day when I can say 'next month!' for home." The match ended in the Englishman's defeat; which Dickens doubly commemorated, by a narrative of the American victory in sporting-newspaper style, and by a dinner in Boston to a party of dear ...
— The Life of Charles Dickens, Vol. I-III, Complete • John Forster
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