defeat

verb [T]

/dɪˈfiːt/

Definition

1. Definition

2. Practise

B1 to win against someone in a fight, war, or competition: Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington at the battle of Waterloo. If we can defeat the Italian team, we'll be through to the final. → See also self-defeatingWinning and defeatingScoring, winning and losing in sport B2 to cause someone or something to fail: The proposal to change the rules was narrowly (= only just) defeated by 201 votes to 196. Our ambitions for this tournament have been defeated by the weather. I'm afraid anything that involves language learning has always defeated me (= I have been unable to do it).Winning and defeatingScoring, winning and losing in sport

(Definition of defeat verb from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)