defeat

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♦♦ de|feat /dɪf'iːt/ (defeats defeating defeated)
1 [VERB] V n
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
2 [VERB] usu passive, be V-ed
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.
3 [VERB] V n
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.
4 [VERB] V n
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
5 [N-VAR]
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...

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