What does defeat mean?
Definitions for defeat
dɪˈfitde·feat
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word defeat.
Princeton's WordNet
defeat, lickingnoun
an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest
"it was a narrow defeat"; "the army's only defeat"; "they suffered a convincing licking"
frustration, defeatverb
the feeling that accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining your goals
get the better of, overcome, defeatverb
win a victory over
"You must overcome all difficulties"; "defeat your enemies"; "He overcame his shyness"; "He overcame his infirmity"; "Her anger got the better of her and she blew up"
kill, shoot down, defeat, vote down, vote outverb
thwart the passage of
"kill a motion"; "he shot down the student's proposal"
Wiktionary
defeatnoun
The act of defeating or being defeated
defeatverb
To overcome in battle or contest.
Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.
defeatverb
To destroy, ruin, undo, lay waste to.
defeatverb
To nullify; to reduce, to nothing, the strength of.
Etymology: from desfait, from the verb desfaire des + faciō (to unmake).
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
DEFEATnoun
Etymology: from defaire, French.
End Marlb’rough’s work, and finish the defeat. Addison.
A king, upon whose life
A damn’d defeat was made. William Shakespeare, Hamlet.To Defeatverb
Etymology: from the noun.
Ye gods, ye make the weak most strong;
Therein, ye gods, ye tyrants do defeat. William Shakespeare, Jul. Cæsar.They invaded Ireland, and were defeated by the lord Mountjoy. Francis Bacon, on the War with Spain.
To his accusations
He pleaded still not guilty, and alleg’d
Many sharp reasons to defeat the law. William Shakespeare, Henry VIII.Death,
Then due by sentence when thou did’st transgress,
Defeated of his seizure, many days,
Giv’n thee of grace. John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. i. l. 254.Discover’d, and defeated of your prey,
You skulk’d. John Dryden, Virg. Past. 3.He finds himself naturally to dread a superior Being, that can defeat all his designs, and disappoint all his hopes. John Tillotson.
ChatGPT
defeat
Defeat is the act of being beaten or subdued in a competition, conflict, or struggle. It refers to the state of losing against an opponent, whether in a literal game, battle, or any form of contest, or metaphorically in terms of failing to achieve a goal or objective. It is the opposite of victory or success.
Webster Dictionary
Defeatverb
to undo; to disfigure; to destroy
Defeatverb
to render null and void, as a title; to frustrate, as hope; to deprive, as of an estate
Defeatverb
to overcome or vanquish, as an army; to check, disperse, or ruin by victory; to overthrow
Defeatverb
to resist with success; as, to defeat an assault
Defeat
an undoing or annulling; destruction
Defeat
frustration by rendering null and void, or by prevention of success; as, the defeat of a plan or design
Defeat
an overthrow, as of an army in battle; loss of a battle; repulse suffered; discomfiture; -- opposed to victory
Etymology: [Cf. F. dfaite, fr. dfaire. See Defeat, v.]
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Defeat
de-fēt′, v.t. to frustrate: to ruin.—n. a frustration of plans: ruin: overthrow, as of an army in battle.—n. Defeat′ure (Spens.), defeat: disfigurement, disguise. [O. Fr. defait, defaire, to undo—L. dis, neg. facĕre, to do.]
Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
defeat
This word expresses the complete want of success of an army; a repulse signifying less, and a rout more, than defeat.
defeat
To resist with success; as, to defeat an assault.
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'defeat' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3245
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'defeat' in Nouns Frequency: #1306
Verbs Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'defeat' in Verbs Frequency: #623
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of defeat in Chaldean Numerology is: 9
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of defeat in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5
Examples of defeat in a Sentence
An IS defeat in Kobani would quite visibly undermine the perception of unstoppable momentum and inevitable victory that IS managed to project, particularly after it captured Mosul.
We can and will defeat those who threaten the safety and security of people all around the world.
British Prime Minister David Cameron:
To defeat this poisonous ideology, we must be clear about why it is so wrong. We must expose and defeat what it is that persuades young people, from Tunisia to Kuwait, from Belgium to Britain, to join ISIL.
I did not lobby anyone on behalf of the Eugene 2021 bid, after their narrow defeat (to Doha) for the 2019 world championships I encouraged them to re-enter another bidding cycle as they had a strong bid.
To see Afghanistan Biden commander in chief call into question the courage of men I fought with, to claim Afghanistan Biden ran, is shameful, this doesn't need to be defeat, but at the moment it damn well feels like it.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for defeat
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- اندحار, غلب, انكسار, هزم, هزيمةArabic
- паражэ́ннеBelarusian
- унищожение, разбивам, побеждавам, поражениеBulgarian
- vèncer, derrota, vencimentCatalan, Valencian
- porazit, porážkaCzech
- tab, overvinde, besejre, usejrDanish
- Niederlage, besiegen, niederringen, schlagenGerman
- νικώ, ήτταGreek
- venki, malvenkoEsperanto
- derrotar, anular, vencimiento, derrota, vencerSpanish
- lüüasaamine, võitmaEstonian
- شکست دادنPersian
- häviö, tappio, päihittää, voittaaFinnish
- ósigurFaroese
- vaincre, défaire, défaiteFrench
- maidhm, cloígh, briseadh, faigh an lámh in uachtar ar, díomua, buaigh arIrish
- callScottish Gaelic
- vencer, derrotar, bater, vencemento, derrotaGalician
- הביס, תבוסהHebrew
- हरनाHindi
- vereség, kudarc, legyőzHungarian
- պարտությունArmenian
- kekalahanIndonesian
- vinna, ósigur, tap, sigraIcelandic
- battere, fallimento, sconfitta, disfatta, insuccesso, sconfiggereItalian
- 負かす, 敗北, 挫折, やっつける, 倒すJapanese
- ឈ្នះ, ការឈ្នះ, ការចាញ់Khmer
- 지우다Korean
- clades, vincereLatin
- nugalėti, įveikti, sukautiLithuanian
- uzvarēt, sakāve, sakaut, uzveiktLatvian
- हरनेMarathi
- verslaan, nederlaag, overwinnenDutch
- nederlag, beseire, overvinneNorwegian
- vencir, vencement, vencimentOccitan
- pokonać, porażkaPolish
- derrotar, vencimento, derrota, vencerPortuguese
- llalliyQuechua
- învinge, înfrânge, bateRomanian
- поражение, побеждать, победить, разбивать, разбить, пораRussian
- porazSerbo-Croatian
- porážkaSlovak
- övervinna, nederlag, besegra, förlustSwedish
- ఓటమి, ఓటు, ఓడించుTelugu
- ความปราชัยThai
- yenmek, mağlup etmek, yenilgi, mağlubiyetTurkish
- пора́зкаUkrainian
- đánh bạiVietnamese
- באַזיגןYiddish
- 败Chinese
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