defeat

Word family  noun defeat defeatism defeatist adjective defeatist defeated ≠ undefeated verb defeat

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++de·feat1 /dɪˈfiːt/ ●●● W3 noun [countable, uncountable]  1  BEAT/DEFEATfailure to win or succeed 失败defeat in The socialist party suffered a crushing defeat in the elections. 社会党在选举中遭遇惨败。 She was a woman who hated to admit defeat. 她是个不愿认输的女人。2  BEAT/DEFEATvictory over someone or something 战胜，击败defeat of The defeat of the army was followed by the establishment of constitutional government. 打败军队后建立了立宪政体。 COLLOCATIONSverbssuffer a defeat (=be defeated) 遭遇失败The party suffered a defeat in the state elections. 该党在州选举中遭遇失败。inflict a defeat on somebody (=defeat someone, especially easily) 〔尤指轻易〕打败某人The army inflicted a heavy defeat on the English. 这支军队重创英格兰军队。admit defeat 认输If I left my job, I would be admitting defeat. 要是我辞职的话就是认输了。accept defeat 接受失败It can be very hard to accept defeat. 接受失败相当难。concede defeat (=formally accept that you have lost in a game, election etc) 〔在比赛、选举等中正式〕认输His opponent conceded defeat. 他的对手认输了。face defeat (=be likely to be defeated) 面临失败In May 1945 Germany faced defeat at the hands of the Allies. 1945年5月,德军面临着败给盟军的局面。ADJECTIVES/NOUN + defeata big/bad defeat (also a heavy defeat British English) (=by a large amount) 大败The polls were forecasting a heavy defeat for the president. 民调预测总统将遭遇惨败。a crushing/resounding defeat (=a complete defeat, by a very large amount) 一败涂地He quit as prime minister following a crushing defeat in regional elections. 在地方选举一败涂地后,他辞去了首相职务。a humiliating defeat (=very embarrassing) 耻辱的失败They are still bitter about their humiliating defeat. 他们对于自己耻辱的失败仍愤愤不平。a disastrous defeat (=very big, and with a very bad result) 惨败The party suffered a disastrous defeat in the 2006 election. 该党在2006年大选中惨败。a narrow defeat (=by a small amount) 惜败The goalkeeper was blamed for the team’s narrow defeat. 球队的惜败归咎于守门员。an election/electoral defeat 选举失利It was their worst general election defeat since 1982. 这是他们自1982年以来输得最惨的一场大选。a military defeat 军事失利The president resigned following a series of military defeats. 一连串军事失利后,总统辞职了。a shock defeat British English (=very unexpected) 意外失利Arsenal are now out of the competition, following their shock defeat by Torquay Town. 阿森纳队意外败给托奎联后,现在被淘汰出局了。

Examples from the Corpus

defeat• A strike is a defeat - a defeat for all.• In previous decades this would signify certain defeat for the revolution.• an election defeat• After his third successive election defeat he decided to retire from politics.• It was the Christian Democratic Party's fourth successive electoral defeat.• Mr Taylor blamed bad publicity for his defeat by Mr Jones.• In the last game of the season they suffered a humiliating defeat, losing 7-0 to Real Madrid.• But they knew that it was a humiliating defeat.• She retired from the sport after suffering a series of humiliating defeats.• The captain offered no excuses for his team's humiliating defeat.• They would wipe out the shame of their ignominious defeat!• The New York Times described the withdrawal of troops as a resounding defeat for the government.• Scotland's defeat of Spain• Religious grumbles continued, but the Government's only serious defeat was over equal pay for women teachers.• The Bob Jones issue was one of the keys to Bush's equally stunning defeat in Michigan only three days later.• They came back from the defeat in Texas to take the next four games.• Once broken through, the door was not closed again until the defeat of the Huns at Chalons-sur-Marne in 451.• the defeat of Napoleon at the battle of Waterloodefeat of• World leaders were pleased with the defeat of the military coup.defeat2 ●●● W3 verb [transitive]  1  BEAT/DEFEATto win a victory over someone in a war, competition, game etc 〔在战争、比赛等中〕战胜，打败 SYN beat They hoped to defeat the enemy at sea. 他们希望在海上击败敌人。defeat somebody by something We were defeated by 3 goals to 2. 我们以2比3的比分败北。► see thesaurus at beat RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say beat rather than defeat when talking about sport, games, or elections: 在日常英语中,人们谈论体育、比赛或选举时一般用 beat ,而不用 defeatWe were beaten by 3 goals to 2. 我们以2比3失利。2  UNDERSTAND#if something defeats you, you cannot understand it and therefore cannot answer or deal with it 把〔某人〕难住 SYN beat It was the last question on the paper that defeated me. 考卷上的最后一道题把我难住了。3  FAILto make something fail 使…失败defeat the object/purpose (of the exercise) Don’t let your arms relax as that would defeat the object of the exercise. 手臂不要放松，否则达不到锻炼的目的。→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

defeat• When Jefferson defeated Adams for the presidency, Adams left town before the inauguration rather than shake hands with him.• They were finally defeated and no other enemy entered Attica as long as Theseus lived.• Polk of California was defeated by a Democratic challenger in the last election.• For the sixth consecutive year, Oxford defeated Cambridge today in the annual boat race.• Sanchez defeated Dornan by just 984 votes.• Though he had defeated heavyweight champion Sonny Liston and defended his title nine times, Ali never had a dramatic constituency before.• The Republicans were heavily defeated in the Spanish Civil War.• Normally my hearing loss isn't a problem, but the telephone defeats me.• In 1692, de Tourville's fleet was defeated near the coast of Cherbourg.• Eloquence alone was sufficient to defeat the motion.• The army was well-trained and well-armed, and had little difficulty defeating the rebels.• It was a lack of money, not effort, that defeated their plan.• That would enable the Harijans to nominate their bravest, most outspoken champions, and the Hindus could never defeat them.defeat the object/purpose (of the exercise)• Water quality would not be improved because of the extra load on the system, which defeats the object.• This, of course, defeats the purpose for which the medication is being given.• This obviously defeated the purpose of bail, which is to assure that the defendant will appear in court.• Such a procedure, of course, defeats the object of classification.• If they become a chore, they defeat the purpose of helping the child to want to interact with you.• Hollows attract water, which obviously defeats the object of the exercise: to create a waterproof hat.• This anxiety will cause tension which defeats the purpose of the exercise.• They are defeating the purpose of the Peace Corps and they are unhappy.Origin defeat2 (1300-1400) Anglo-French defeter “to destroy”, from Medieval Latin disfacere, from Latin facere “to do”

de·feat1 noun →COLLOCATIONS1defeat2 verb →REGISTER1ChineseSyllable  

failure Corpus win or to succeed

defeat

I

de‧feat¹ W3 /dɪˈfiːt/ noun [uncountable and countable]1. failure to win or succeed
    defeat in
    The socialist party suffered a crushing defeat in the elections.
    She was a woman who hated to admit defeat.
2. victory over someone or something
    defeat of
    The defeat of the army was followed by the establishment of constitutional government.
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ verbs
   ▪ suffer a defeat (=be defeated) The party suffered a defeat in the state elections.
   ▪ inflict a defeat on somebody (=defeat someone, especially easily) The army inflicted a heavy defeat on the English.
   ▪ admit defeat If I left my job, I would be admitting defeat.
   ▪ accept defeat It can be very hard to accept defeat.
   ▪ concede defeat (=formally accept that you have lost in a game, election etc) His opponent conceded defeat.
   ▪ face defeat (=be likely to be defeated) In May 1945 Germany faced defeat at the hands of the Allies.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + defeat
   ▪ a big/bad defeat (also a heavy defeat British English) (=by a large amount) The polls were forecasting a heavy defeat for the President.
   ▪ a crushing/resounding defeat (=a complete defeat, by a very large amount) He quit as Prime Minister following a crushing defeat in regional elections.
   ▪ a humiliating defeat (=very embarrassing) They are still bitter about their humiliating defeat.
   ▪ a disastrous defeat (=very big, and with a very bad result) The party suffered a disastrous defeat in the 2006 election.
   ▪ a narrow defeat (=by a small amount) The goalkeeper was blamed for the team’s narrow defeat.
   ▪ an election/electoral defeat It was their worst general election defeat since 1982.
   ▪ a military defeat The president resigned following a series of military defeats.
   ▪ a shock defeat British English (=very unexpected) Arsenal are now out of the competition, following their shock defeat by Torquay Town.

II

defeat² W3 verb [transitive]1. to win a victory over someone in a war, competition, game etc
   SYN  beat:
    They hoped to defeat the enemy at sea.
    defeat somebody by something
    We were defeated by 3 goals to 2.
  REGISTER
    In everyday English, people usually say beat rather than defeat when talking about sport, games, or elections:
   ▪ We were beaten by 3 goals to 2.
2. if something defeats you, you cannot understand it and therefore cannot answer or deal with it
   SYN  beat:
    It was the last question on the paper that defeated me.
3. to make something fail
    defeat the object/purpose (of the exercise)
    Don’t let your arms relax as that would defeat the object of the exercise.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ beat to get more points, votes etc than someone. Beat is used especially in spoken English: We should have beaten them easily. | I always beat my brother at tennis.
   ▪ defeat to beat someone. Defeat is more formal than beat and is used especially in writing: England were defeated by 2 goals to 1. | Bush defeated Kerry in the election.
   ▪ trounce /traʊns/ to defeat someone completely in a game: They were trounced 20–0 by Kuwait.
   ▪ thrash British English informal, cream American English informal to beat someone very easily in a game: Of course, they totally creamed the other team. | I hope we thrash them!
   ▪ wipe the floor with somebody informal to beat someone completely in a game or argument: She wiped the floor with her opponent in the debate. | They won a £1,000 prize after wiping the floor with the opposition in a bowling competition.