n.
Pronunciation: di- ' f ē t, d ē -
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English deffeten, from Anglo-French defait, past participle of defaire, desfaire to destroy, from Medieval Latin disfacere, from Latin dis- + facere to do ― more at DO
Date: 14th century
1 obsolete : DESTROY
2 a : NULLIFY < defeat an estate> b : FRUSTRATE 2A(1) < defeat a hope>
3 : to win victory over : BEAT < defeat the opposing team>
synonyms see CONQUER
– de · feat · able \ - ' f ē -t ə -b ə l \ adjective