defeat

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /dɪˈfiːt/ See IPA manual

Freq #2920

Meanings

1

verb
To win against someone in a battle, game, or contest.

Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.
2

noun
The fact of losing a battle, game, or contest.

The team suffered a narrow defeat in the final.
3

verb
To prevent something from succeeding.

Heavy rain defeated all their attempts to finish the match.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to win against someone in a... beat conquer

2 noun · the fact of losing a... loss

3 verb · to prevent something from... thwart foil

More convince flog humblemalavoguemurdelizeoutfoxoutguess outrun outsmart outwit overcome

Opposites

capitulate forfeit lose relinquish surrender victory yield

Word family

Forms defeateddefeatingdefeats

Derived forms defeatabledefeaticandefeatinglydefeatlessdefeatocratredefeatself-defeatingundefeatabilityundefeatable

Related forms defeasancedefeasibledefeaterdefeatismdefeatistdefeature

Appears in

Phrases (4)

See all

defeat the purpose
to prevent an action from achieving its intended aim, often by producing the opposite effect

Verb + noun
inglorious defeat
A humiliating failure to win or succeed.

Adjective + noun
calamitous defeat
a loss that causes disastrous consequences

Adjective + noun
staggering defeat
a loss so severe or unexpected that it shocks people

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

Victory has a hundred fathers, but defeat is an orphan

Simplified etymology

Defeat entered English in the late Middle English period and goes back to medieval Latin disfacere, “undo.” Its early recorded senses included “undo,” “destroy,” and “annul.”

Etymology

From Middle English defet, from French deffet, desfait, past participle of the verb desfaire (compare modern French défaire), from des- + faire.

defet Middle English deffet French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# defeat

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /dɪˈfiːt/
**Frequency rank:** 2920

## Meanings
1. To win against someone in a battle, game, or contest.
2. The fact of losing a battle, game, or contest.
3. To prevent something from succeeding.

## Examples
- Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.
- The team suffered a narrow defeat in the final.
- Heavy rain defeated all their attempts to finish the match.

## Synonyms
- beat
- convince
- flog
- humble
- malavogue
- murdelize
- outfox
- outguess
- outrun
- outsmart
- outwit
- overcome

## Antonyms
- capitulate
- forfeit
- lose
- relinquish
- surrender
- victory
- yield

## Derived Forms
- defeatable
- defeatican
- defeatingly
- defeatless
- defeatocrat
- redefeat
- self-defeating
- undefeatability
- undefeatable

## Related Forms
- defeasance
- defeasible
- defeater
- defeatism
- defeatist
- defeature

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: defet
- Root: deffet

## Etymology
From Middle English defet, from French deffet, desfait, past participle of the verb desfaire (compare modern French défaire), from des- + faire.

## AI Etymology
defeat comes from Middle English defet, from French deffet, desfait, past participle of the verb desfaire (compare modern French défaire), from des- + faire. The historical chain includes Middle English defet, French deffet. Current senses include to win against someone in a battle, game, or contest and The fact of losing a battle, game, or contest. English relatives and later formations include defeatable, defeatican, defeatingly, defeasance, defeasible.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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