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defect

verb [I]
 
 
/dɪˈfekt/

Definition

to leave a country, political party, etc., especially in order to join an opposing one: When the national hockey team visited America, half the players defected. The British spy, Kim Philby, defected to the Soviet Union/defected from Britain in 1963.Running away and escaping defector
 
 
/dɪˈfek.tər/ US  /-tɚ/ noun [C]
She was one of many Communist Party defectors.Runaways and refugees
(Definition of defect verb from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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