DEFEAT


Meaning of DEFEAT in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ dɪfi:t ]

( defeats, defeating, defeated)

Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.

1.

If you defeat someone, you win a victory over them in a battle, game, or contest.

His guerrillas defeated the colonial army in 1954...

= beat

VERB : V n

2.

If a proposal or motion in a debate is defeated , more people vote against it than for it.

The proposal was defeated by just one vote.

VERB : usu passive , be V-ed

3.

If a task or a problem defeats you, it is so difficult that you cannot do it or solve it.

There were times when the challenges of writing such a huge novel almost defeated her.

VERB : V n

4.

To defeat an action or plan means to cause it to fail.

The navy played a limited but significant role in defeating the rebellion...

= thwart

VERB : V n

5.

Defeat is the experience of being beaten in a battle, game, or contest, or of failing to achieve what you wanted to.

The most important thing is not to admit defeat until you really have to...

The vote is seen as a defeat for the anti-abortion lobby...

N-VAR

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Английский словарь Коллинз COBUILD для изучающих язык на продвинутом уровне.