defect

noun [C]

/ˈdiː.fekt/

Definition

C1 a fault or problem in something or someone that spoils them or causes them not to work correctly: All R45 aircraft have been grounded, after a defect in the engine cooling system was discovered. There are so many defects in our education system. It's a character defect in her that she can't ever accept that she's in the wrong.Faults and mistakes › a physical condition in which something is wrong with a part of someone's body: She suffers from a heart/sight/speech defect. The drug has been shown to cause birth defects. Cystic fibrosis is caused by a genetic defect.Physical irregularities

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