# defeat

/dɪˈfit/ (US) · /dɪfˈiːt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/defeat
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. to win against someone

verb · CEFR B1

to win a victory over someone in a war, a competition, or a game.

For teachers: to overcome an opponent in a battle, contest, or competition. Transitive; requires a direct object representing the party that lost.

- The local team managed to defeat the champions in a surprising final match.
- The coalition forces worked together to defeat the insurgency, eventually restoring stability to the border regions after years of conflict.

### 2. to make something fail

verb · CEFR B2

to stop a plan or an idea from being successful.

For teachers: to frustrate or prevent the success of a plan, purpose, or expectation.

- A lack of funding might defeat our hopes of building a new community centre.
- The complexity of the legal requirements threatened to defeat the merger before the final contracts could even be drafted.

### 3. to nullify

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical · Formal

to make something legally void or to cancel its effect.

For teachers: to render null and void; to cause a legal claim or action to fail.

- The judge ruled that the new evidence was enough to defeat the plaintiff's claim.
- The defence sought to defeat the motion by proving that the statute of limitations had already expired before the filing.

### 4. the act of losing

noun · CEFR B1

an occasion when you lose a fight or a competition.

For teachers: the state of being overcome or the instance of losing a contest. Countable when referring to specific events; uncountable as a general concept.

- The general refused to admit defeat even when his army was surrounded.
- After suffering a narrow defeat in the primary election, the candidate thanked her supporters and promised to continue her advocacy work.

## Examples

- The team suffered a heavy defeat in the final game.
- After the unexpected election defeat, the party leader decided to resign from her position immediately.
- Historians argue that the military defeat was not due to a lack of resources but rather a failure of strategic communication between the high command and the front lines.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.