defeated; defeating; defeats
1
: to win victory over : beat
defeated their archrivals in the championship game
The bill was defeated in the Senate.
2
a
: frustrate sense 2a(1)
defeat a hope
b
law
: nullify
defeat an estate
3
obsolete
: destroy
… his unkindness may defeat my life …—
Shakespeare
Shakespeare1
: frustration by nullification or by prevention of success
The bill suffered defeat in the Senate.
2
a
: an overthrow especially of an army in battle
celebrate their defeat of the enemy
b
: the loss of a contest
his first defeat as a professional boxer
3
obsolete
: destruction
… upon whose property and most dear life a damned defeat was made.—Shakespeare
ShakespeareSynonyms
Examples of defeat in a Sentence
Verb
We must be ready to defeat our enemies in battle.
Our candidate defeated him in the last election.
She finally found a solution to a problem that had defeated many other researchers.
The bill was defeated in the state senate.
Scientists from around the world are working to defeat the disease.
Noun
We weren't prepared for defeat.
One small error could make the difference between success and defeat.
After several tries we were forced to accept defeat.
They celebrated their defeat of the enemy.
Recent Examples on the Web
CNN, 21 Nov. 2024
All of those measures were defeated, but forced the real estate industry to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in opposition.
—Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 22 Nov. 2024
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are grappling with declining approval ratings following their electoral defeat.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for defeat 
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Verb
Aryna Sabalenka defeats Jessica Pegula and Jannik Sinner defeats Taylor Fritz.
September 15 - The 76th annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony takes place with Dan and Eugene Levy as hosts.
October 7-14 - The Nobel Prizes are announced.
—CNN, 21 Nov. 2024
All of those measures were defeated, but forced the real estate industry to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in opposition.
—Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
Noun
Biden was heading for a resounding defeat to Trump.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 22 Nov. 2024
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are grappling with declining approval ratings following their electoral defeat.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for defeat
Dictionary Entries Near defeat
Cite this Entry
“Defeat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defeat. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
defeat
1 of 2 verb
de·feat
di-ˈfēt 
1
: to destroy the value or effect of
the lawyers defeated the will
2
: to win a victory over
defeated their team
defeat
2 of 2 noun1
: the act or an instance of making ineffective by prevention of success
the bill suffered defeat by Congress
the defeat of one's hopes
2
a
: an overthrow of an army in battle
b
: loss of a contest (as by a team)
Legal Definition
defeat
transitive verb
de·feat
1
a
: to render null
third parties will defeat an attached but “unperfected” security interest—J. J. White and R. S. Summers
J. J. White and R. S. Summers
b
: to prevent or undo the effectiveness or establishment of
defeat jurisdiction
defendant took stand and defeated intoxication defense—National Law Journal
National Law Journal2
a
: to prevail over
b
: to thwart the claim of
defeat creditors
an intent to defeat the surviving spouse of his…elective share—Tennessee Code Annotated
Tennessee Code Annotated
defeat
noun
Etymology
Transitive verb
Anglo-French defait, past participle of defaire to undo, defeat, from Old French deffaire, desfaire, from de-, prefix marking reversal of action + faire to do
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