defect

American  

[dee-fekt, dih-fekt, dih-fekt] / ˈdi fɛkt, dɪˈfɛkt, dɪˈfɛkt /

noun

• defects
  plural

1. a shortcoming, fault, or imperfection: a defect in a machine.

   a defect in an argument;

   a defect in a machine.

2. lack or want, especially of something essential to perfection or completeness; deficiency: a defect of action.

   a defect of common sense

   a defect of action.

3. Also called lattice defect.  Also called crystal defect,.  Crystallography. a discontinuity in the lattice of a crystal caused by missing or extra atoms or ions, or by dislocations.

---

verb (used without object)

• defects,
  present (3rd person singular)
• defected,
  past participle,  past
• defecting
  present participle

1. to desert a cause, country, etc., especially in order to adopt another (often followed by from orto ).

   He defected from the U.S.S.R. to the West.

defect British  

noun

1. a lack of something necessary for completeness or perfection; shortcoming; deficiency

2. an imperfection, failing, or blemish

3. crystallog a local deviation from regularity in the crystal lattice of a solid See also point defect dislocation

---

verb

1. (intr) to desert one's country, cause, allegiance, etc, esp in order to join the opposing forces

Synonym Usage

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.).

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• defectibility
  noun
• defector
  noun
• predefect
  noun
• redefect
  verb (used without object)
• defectible
  adjective
• defectless
  adjective
• nondefecting
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• defects
  plural

Participles

• defecting
  present
• defected
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• defect
  simple
• defects
  simple
• have defected
  perfect
• has defected
  perfect
• am defecting
  progressive
• are defecting
  progressive
• is defecting
  progressive
• have been defecting
  perfect progressive
• has been defecting
  perfect progressive

Past

• defected
  simple
• had defected
  perfect
• was defecting
  progressive
• were defecting
  progressive
• had been defecting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will defect
  simple
• will have defected
  perfect
• will be defecting
  progressive
• will have been defecting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of defect

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin dēfectus “failure, weakness,” equivalent to dēfec-, variant stem of dēficere “to run short, fail, weaken” ( see deficient) + -tus suffix of verb action

Explanation

A flaw in something is a defect. At certain stores you can buy clothes with slight defects. You have to be careful because the defect can be minor, like a missing button, or major, like sleeves of uneven lengths. In a person, a defect is an imperfection, which can manifest itself mentally or physically. If you are diagnosed with a heart defect, you will have to seek the advice of specialists. A hearing defect might leave your dad deaf in one ear. If you are becoming forgetful, you can joke that you are developing a mental defect, but if it continues, you'll probably want to have your head examined.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

defect defects defected defecting

Doctors have used ground-breaking surgery on an unborn baby to successfully correct a birth defect while he was still inside the womb.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

Although the word defect may suggest a weakness, dislocations can help metals deform under extreme force instead of breaking apart.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026

I was born with a heart defect, so I see a cardiologist every year to check up on it.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

Also, in 2023, he has said, he was dead for 25 minutes during surgery to repair a heart defect.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

She mended every defect she could find, both inside and out.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

Home inspectors don’t open up walls and remove flooring to check for hidden defects in a home, he noted.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

And rubella risks causing severe birth defects in pregnant women.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Within weeks of the renovation’s completion, numerous defects were spotted, with a liner installed on the bottom of the pool peeling in various places, and algae again infesting the water.

From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026

They implanted the keratin membranes into rats with skull defects that were large enough that they would not normally heal on their own.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026

Wiener has proposed, on intuitive grounds, that defects and misinterpretations in such a communication system may be an unexplored territory for psychiatry.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

Montgomerie, who defected to Reform 18 months ago after a long career as a Tory adviser and commentator, has said he plans to appeal against the suspension.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

The firm had begun to evolve in recent years, but slowly: In 2016, it was dealt a shock when a star dealmaker, Scott Barshay, defected to Paul, Weiss.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

But last week, the replies were inundated with complaints that Letterboxd had defected to the corporate dark side, along with fearful pleas for the platform’s owners to reconsider.

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026

It was in 1990, while touring Europe with his hero Gillespie, that Sandoval finally defected from Cuba with his wife and son — and found the refuge he’d been seeking in the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026

Later, Celia would learn with sadness that the girl had defected while on tour in Oaxaca and was playing a psychotic housewife on a popular Mexican novela.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

At the dinner, I tried to get a sense if there were more women like Smith—sweet, older Christian Alabamians—snapping and defecting to the left.

From Slate ● May 4, 2026

There were rival lawsuits and public barbs, as the Tour suddenly found itself scrambling to keep its top players from defecting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026

He said: "It would have been obvious to him from the moment of defecting that continued occupation would be unsustainable."

From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026

The defecting lawmakers are making it heard that their decision wasn’t taken lightly.

From Salon ● Jan. 9, 2026

“We risked our lives by defecting from our faction,” says Cara, “and we will risk them again to save our faction from itself.”

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

Related Words

• bug
• crack
• deficiency
• deformity
• error
• fault
• flaw
• glitch
• injury
• irregularity
• lack
• mistake
• shortage
• shortcoming
• weakness