defeat

8 definitions • 13 examples

to win against someone in a fight, war, or competition:

Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington at the battle of Waterloo.

They defeated the Italian team and reached the final.

to cause someone or something to fail:

be narrowly defeated The proposal to change the rules was narrowly defeated (= by a very small number) by 201 votes to 196.

Our ambitions for this tournament have been defeated by the weather.

I'm afraid anything that involves language learning has always defeated me (= I have been unable to do it).

the fact of losing against someone in a fight or competition, or when someone or something is made to fail:

crushing defeat In the last election, they suffered a crushing defeat.

humiliating defeat The coach has made several changes to the team following last week's humiliating defeat.

After their defeat in battle, the soldiers surrendered.

to accept that you have lost a fight or competition:

She admitted defeat well before all the votes had been counted.

to accept that you cannot do something:

I thought I could fix the radio myself, but I had to admit defeat.

to oppose and cause someone to lose in a competition or war so that you can win:

Bill Clinton defeated George Bush for the presidency in 1992.

success in competition with an opponent, causing the opponent to lose so that you can win:

[ U ] In the American Civil War, the North’s defeat of the South involved tremendous loss of life on both sides.

A defeat is also the action or fact of losing a competition or war:

[ C ] This was the team’s fifth straight defeat.