Meaning of "defeat" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD DEFEAT

From Old French desfait, from desfaire to undo, ruin, from des-dis-1 + faire to do, from Latin facere.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF DEFEAT

defeat  [dɪˈfiːt]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF DEFEAT

Defeat is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb defeat in English.

WHAT DOES DEFEAT MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Defeat

Defeat may refer to: ▪ the opposite of victory ▪ Debellatio ▪ Surrender usually follows a defeat...

Definition of defeat in the English dictionary

The first definition of defeat in the dictionary is to overcome in a contest or competition; win a victory over. Other definition of defeat is to thwart or frustrate. Defeat is also to render null and void; annul.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO DEFEAT

PRESENT

Present

I defeat

you defeat

he/she/it defeats

we defeat

you defeat

they defeat

Present continuous

I am defeating

you are defeating

he/she/it is defeating

we are defeating

you are defeating

they are defeating

Present perfect

I have defeated

you have defeated

he/she/it has defeated

we have defeated

you have defeated

they have defeated

Present perfect continuous

I have been defeating

you have been defeating

he/she/it has been defeating

we have been defeating

you have been defeating

they have been defeating

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I defeated

you defeated

he/she/it defeated

we defeated

you defeated

they defeated

Past continuous

I was defeating

you were defeating

he/she/it was defeating

we were defeating

you were defeating

they were defeating

Past perfect

I had defeated

you had defeated

he/she/it had defeated

we had defeated

you had defeated

they had defeated

Past perfect continuous

I had been defeating

you had been defeating

he/she/it had been defeating

we had been defeating

you had been defeating

they had been defeating

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will defeat

you will defeat

he/she/it will defeat

we will defeat

you will defeat

they will defeat

Future continuous

I will be defeating

you will be defeating

he/she/it will be defeating

we will be defeating

you will be defeating

they will be defeating

Future perfect

I will have defeated

you will have defeated

he/she/it will have defeated

we will have defeated

you will have defeated

they will have defeated

Future perfect continuous

I will have been defeating

you will have been defeating

he/she/it will have been defeating

we will have been defeating

you will have been defeating

they will have been defeating

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would defeat

you would defeat

he/she/it would defeat

we would defeat

you would defeat

they would defeat

Conditional continuous

I would be defeating

you would be defeating

he/she/it would be defeating

we would be defeating

you would be defeating

they would be defeating

Conditional perfect

I would have defeat

you would have defeat

he/she/it would have defeat

we would have defeat

you would have defeat

they would have defeat

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been defeating

you would have been defeating

he/she/it would have been defeating

we would have been defeating

you would have been defeating

they would have been defeating

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you defeat
we let´s defeat
you defeat

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to defeat

Past participle

defeated

Present Participle

defeating

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «DEFEAT»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «defeat» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of defeat

baffle · balk · beat · beating · clobber · confound · conquer · conquest · crush · debacle · demolish · destroy · disappointment · failure · foil · forestall · frustrate · frustration · get the better of · lick · make mincemeat of · master · outplay · overpower · overthrow · overturn · overwhelm · pasting · put paid to · quell · repulse · reverse · rout · ruin · run rings around · setback · stuff · stymie · subdue · subjugate · subvert · tank · thwart · trounce · undo · upset · vanquish · vanquishment · worst

TRANSLATION OF DEFEAT

Find out the translation of defeat to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of defeat from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «defeat» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 击败
• Translator English - Spanish: derrota
• English: defeat
• Translator English - Hindi: हार
• Translator English - Arabic: هَزِيـمَة
• Translator English - Russian: поражение
• Translator English - Portuguese: derrota
• Translator English - Bengali: পরাজয়
• Translator English - French: défaite
• Translator English - Malay: Kekalahan
• Translator English - German: Niederlage
• Translator English - Japanese: 負け
• Translator English - Korean: 패배
• Translator English - Javanese: Kekalahan
• Translator English - Vietnamese: sự thất bại
• Translator English - Tamil: தோல்வியை
• Translator English - Marathi: पराभूत करणे
• Translator English - Turkish: yenilgi
• Translator English - Italian: sconfitta
• Translator English - Polish: porażka
• Translator English - Ukrainian: поразка
• Translator English - Romanian: înfrângere
• Translator English - Greek: ήττα
• Translator English - Afrikaans: nederlaag
• Translator English - Swedish: nederlag
• Translator English - Norwegian: nederlag

10 QUOTES WITH «DEFEAT»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word defeat.

1

David Axelrod

But you say, does it represent change? The change is that we are fighting an insurance industry that has killed health reform for generations. They're spending tens of millions of dollars right now to defeat this bill, and we're on the doorstep of winning a great victory for the American people.

2

Jonathan Carroll

For an adult, eating alone at McDonald's is admitting a kind of defeat.

3

John Cassavetes

You can defeat fear through humor, through pain, through honesty, bravery, intuition, and through love in the truest sense.

4

Henry Cavill

I like to go full bore into something. If you have a backup plan, then you've already admitted defeat.

5

Lydia M. Child

A reformer is one who sets forth cheerfully toward sure defeat.

6

Galeazzo Ciano

Victory has a hundred fathers but defeat is an orphan.

7

Roy Cohn

I bring out the worst in my enemies and that's how I get them to defeat themselves.

8

Robert Collier

In every adversity there lies the seed of an equivalent advantage. In every defeat is a lesson showing you how to win the victory next time.

9

Francis Marion Crawford

To expect defeat is nine-tenths of defeat itself.

10

Stafford Cripps

Apart altogether from our own vital interests, we cannot and must not desert those other nations who have already gone through so much tragedy and suffering to defeat the evil designs of the Axis powers.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «DEFEAT»

Discover the use of defeat in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to defeat and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II

Chronicles the events that took place in Japan at the end of World War II and explores the effects they have had on the development and shaping of the Japanese society, from immediately after the war to the present day.

John W. Dower, 2000

Strange Defeat: A Statement of Evidence Written in 1940

A renowned historian and Resistance fighter -- later executed by the Nazis -- analyzes at first hand why France fell in 1940.

Marc Bloch, 1999

Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913

This book is written at an operational level that details every campaign at the level of the army corps.

Edward J. Erickson, 2003

Defeat Into Victory

These memoirs rank with those of Ulysses S. Grant as one of the few honest testaments [of war].--The Readers Companion to Military History

William Slim, 2009

The Defeat of Solidarity: Anger and Politics in ...

Anger and Politics in Postcommunist Europe David Ost. for example, it was long easier to blame "Jews" for economic problems than to blame "capital." Kept off the land and out of the traditional feudal class structure, many Jews moved to ...

David Ost, 2006

The Defeat of the Mind

A passionate critique of Enlightenment--both in its contemporary invocation and its historical and cultural use--and a call to arms to rethink human equality and liberty without the sacrifice of individual rights and ethnicities.

Alain Finkielkraut, 1995

Defeat: Napoleon's Russian Campaign

In this famous memoir, Philippe-Paul de Ségur, a young aide-de-camp to Napoleon, tells the story of the unfolding disaster with the keen eye of a crack reporter and an astute grasp of human character.

Philippe-Paul comte de Ségur, 2008

Remembering Defeat: Civil War and Civic Memory in Ancient Athens

In Remembering Defeat, Andrew Wolpert claims that the peace was "negotiated and constructed in civic discourse" and not imposed upon the populace.

Andrew Wolpert, 2003

A Glorious Defeat: Mexico and Its War with the United States

In contrast with many current books that treat the war as a fundamentally American experience, Timothy J. Henderson offers a fresh perspective on the Mexican side of the equation.

Timothy J. Henderson, 2008

The German Defeat in the East, 1944-45

The last place a German soldier wanted to be in 1944 was the Russian front.

Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr., 2007

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «DEFEAT»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term defeat is used in the context of the following news items.

Micronesia suffer another humiliating defeat after 46-0 loss to Vanuatu

The Federated States of Micronesia suffered their third record defeat when they were thrashed 46-0 by Vanuatu in an Olympic qualifying ... «The Guardian, Jul 15»

Coalition suffers first legislative defeat in the Knesset

Coalition suffers first legislative defeat in the Knesset ... this week, the coalition suffered its first defeat at the Israeli parliament on Wednesday, ... «Ynetnews, Jul 15»

Brazil 1-7 Germany, one year on: how humiliating defeat altered …

Mauricio Savarese and Marcus Alves describe the year following Brazil's unforgettable defeat to the eventual World Cup champions in Belo ... «FourFourTwo, Jul 15»

In first defeat for Israeli government, opposition passes first bill at …

... passed a bill Wednesday in a political maneuver that delivered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government its first legislative defeat. «Haaretz, Jul 15»

Anderson opens up after Djokovic defeat

Cape Town - South Africa's No 1 Kevin Anderson talks about his agonising five-set defeat to world No 1 Novak Djokovic in the fourth round at ... «Sport24, Jul 15»

Red Bull Salzburg 3-1 West Brom: Tony Pulis' side suffer defeat by …

West Bromwich Albion lost 3-1 in their opening pre-season match against Red Bull Salzburg as they concluded their training camp in Austria in ... «Daily Mail, Jul 15»

Wimbledon 2015: Nick Kyrgios "shocked" by criticism after …

Wimbledon 2015: Nick Kyrgios "shocked" by criticism after controversial defeat to Richard Gasquet. 17:23, 8 July 2015; By Josh Lawless ... «Mirror.co.uk, Jul 15»

Yes We Can't Defeat ISIS

The uncertainty of the Byzantine Empire doomed it to defeat at the Battle of Heliopolis. The Muslim invaders benefited once again from a united ... «FrontPage Magazine, Jul 15»

Shaggy's plan to defeat Islamic State: make them listen to my music

Shaggy's plan to defeat Islamic State: make them listen to my music. Singer suggests Isil fighters 'are not going to want to cut somebody's head ... «Telegraph.co.uk, Jul 15»

Cards suffer double dose of defeat

CHICAGO • Playing with little margin for error on the scoreboard and a shrinking one in the standings, the Cardinals donated more extra outs ... «STLtoday.com, Jul 15»