defected

3 definitions • 7 examples

past simple and past participle of

to leave a country, political party, etc., especially in order to join an opposing one:

When the national hockey team visited the US, half the players defected.

defect to The British spy, Kim Philby, defected to the Soviet Union in 1963.

defect from The British spy, Kim Philby, defected from Britain in 1963.

to leave a company, stop buying from a business, etc., especially in order to start working for or buying from one of their competitors:

The company is paying out millions in incentive bonuses to stop its best people from defecting.

Internet providers struggled to prevent angry customers defecting.

defect from She defected from the software company to take up a post at their main rival.

defect to A lot of traditional department stores' customers are defecting to discount stores.