to overcome in a contest, election, battle, etc.; prevail over; vanquish: They defeated the enemy. She defeated her brother at tennis.
to frustrate; thwart.
to eliminate or deprive of something expected: The early returns defeated his hopes of election.
Law. to annul.
noun
the act of overcoming in a contest: an overwhelming defeat of all opposition.
an instance of defeat; setback: He considered his defeat a personal affront.
an overthrow or overturning; vanquishment: the defeat of a government.
a bringing to naught; frustration: the defeat of all his hopes and dreams.
the act or event of being bested; losing: Defeat is not something she abides easily.
Archaic. undoing; destruction; ruin.
Origin of defeat
1325–75;Middle Englishdefeten (v.) < Anglo-French,Old Frenchdesfait, past participle of desfaire to undo, destroy < Medieval Latindisfacere, equivalent to Latindis-dis-1 + facere to do
1. Defeat,conquer,overcome,subdue imply gaining a victory or control over an opponent. Defeat suggests beating or frustrating: to defeat an enemy in battle.Conquer implies finally gaining control over, usually after a series of efforts or against systematic resistance: to conquer a country, one's inclinations.Overcome emphasizes surmounting difficulties in prevailing over an antagonist: to overcome opposition, bad habits.Subdue means to conquer so completely that resistance is broken: to subdue a rebellious spirit.
late 14c., from Anglo-French defeter, from Old French desfait, past participle of desfaire "to undo," from Vulgar Latin *diffacere "undo, destroy," from Latin dis- "un-, not" (see dis-) + facere "to do, perform" (see factitious). Original sense was of "bring ruination, cause destruction." Military sense of "conquer" is c.1600. Related: Defeated; defeating.
