# defeat

Pronunciation: say "di-FEET" /dɪˈfiːt/

## Verb

1. To overcome an opponent in battle, competition, or contest.
   - Simple: To beat someone in a fight, game, or competition.
   - _The general's forces defeated the rebels at the river crossing._
   - _A smaller army can defeat a larger one through superior tactics._
4. To prevent something from being achieved or carried out.
   - Simple: To stop something from happening or succeeding.
   - _Lack of funding defeated the project before it began._
   - _Procedural delays can defeat even the best-intentioned reforms._
5. To render something void or without force; to nullify.
   - Simple: To make something no longer have any force or effect.
   - _The amendment defeated the original intent of the statute._
   - _Conflicting terms defeat the claim entirely._
6. To reduce the strength of something to nothing.
   - Simple: To take away all of something's power or strength.
   - _Months of hardship defeated his determination to keep going._
   - _Harsh conditions can defeat the strength of even the fittest crews._

## Noun

2. The condition or experience of being beaten or overcome; a loss.
   - Simple: The state of losing a fight, game, or contest.
   - _The army's defeat marked the end of the long war._
   - _He could not hide his disappointment after such a heavy defeat._
3. The act of overcoming or vanquishing an opponent.
   - Simple: The act of beating an opponent in a fight or contest.
   - _The general's defeat of the rebels restored order to the province._
   - _Her defeat of three former champions earned her the title._
7. The frustration or blocking of something so that it cannot succeed; in law, the nullification of a right or claim.
   - Simple: The blocking or stopping of something so it cannot succeed.
   - _The defeat of the merger came after months of regulatory wrangling._
   - _Lawyers argued for the defeat of the competing claim under the new statute._

## Noun

8. Total destruction or ruin. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Complete destruction or ruin of something.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 4–6** — From Middle English defeten, connected to Middle English defet ("disfigured," a past participle) and defet ("defect," a noun); see the second etymology.
**Meanings 2–3, 7–8** — From Middle English defet, from French deffet or desfait, the past participle of the verb desfaire (compare modern French défaire), formed from des- plus faire.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/defeat (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).