defect
[noun dee-fekt, dih-fekt; verb dih-fekt]
- a shortcoming, fault, or imperfection: a defect in an argument; a defect in a machine.
- lack or want, especially of something essential to perfection or completeness; deficiency: a defect in hearing.
- Also called crystal defect, lattice defect. Crystallography. a discontinuity in the lattice of a crystal caused by missing or extra atoms or ions, or by dislocations.
- to desert a cause, country, etc., especially in order to adopt another (often followed by from or to): He defected from the U.S.S.R to the West.
Origin of defect
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin dēfectus failure, weakness, equivalent to dēfec- variant stem of dēficere to run short, fail, weaken (see deficient) + -tus suffix of v. action
Synonym study
1. Defect, blemish, flaw refer to faults that detract from perfection. Defect is the general word for any kind of shortcoming or imperfection, whether literal or figurative: a defect in eyesight, in a plan. A blemish is usually a defect on a surface, which mars the appearance: a blemish on her cheek. Flaw is applied to a defect in quality, caused by imperfect structure (as in a diamond) or brought about during manufacture (as in texture of cloth, in clearness of glass, etc.).
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for defect
Contemporary Examples
These big paydays have incentivized a record number of Cuban players to defect.
I think we are empowering refugees and there will be many more people like me who defect.
How ‘Titanic ’Helped This Brave Young Woman Escape North Korea’s Totalitarian StateLizzie Crocker
October 31, 2014
After clashing with coach Victor Tikhonov, a KGB-installed tyrant, he chose to challenge the government and defect to the NHL.
Putin’s Hockey Pal Tells All: Slava Fetisov on ‘Red Army,’ Soviet Nostalgia, and What Drives PutinMarlow Stern
October 9, 2014
When Michele Bachmann claimed in 2011 that a supporter had been bribed to defect to Ron Paul, observers rolled their eyes.
He also may have tried to defect from the Taliban after they lost the war and join up with the Afghan government.
CIA Chief, White House Chief of Staff Long Argued the Taliban 5 Could Go FreeJosh Rogin, Eli Lake
June 7, 2014
Historical Examples
Yet the manner, and the air, made up (as I intended they should) for that defect.
Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
What we imagine to be a superior perfection, may really be a defect.
Rousseau's Confessions has precisely this defect—he read it to his friends.
A Hero of Our TimeM. Y. Lermontov
Most often a virtue presents itself side by side with a defect.
Doctor PascalEmile Zola
Some defect in the latter may be excused, but not in the former.
The RepublicPlato
defect
- a lack of something necessary for completeness or perfection; shortcoming; deficiency
- an imperfection, failing, or blemish
- crystallog a local deviation from regularity in the crystal lattice of a solidSee also point defect, dislocation (def. 3)
- (intr) to desert one's country, cause, allegiance, etc, esp in order to join the opposing forces
Word Origin
C15: from Latin dēfectus, from dēficere to forsake, fail; see deficient
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for defect
n.
early 15c., from Middle French defect and directly from Latin defectus "failure, revolt, falling away," noun use of past participle of deficere "to fail, desert" (see deficient).
v.
1570s, from Latin defectus, past participle of deficere "to fail, desert" (see defect (n.)). Related: Defected; defecting.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
defect
(dē′fĕkt′, dĭ-fĕkt′)
- A lack of or abnormality in something necessary for normal functioning; a deficiency or imperfection.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.