defeat
verb [ T ] uk/dɪˈfiːt/ us/dɪˈfiːt/
B1 击败，打败，战胜
to win against someone in a fight, war, or competition
Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington at the battle of Waterloo. 拿破仑在滑铁卢战役中被惠灵顿公爵击败。
They defeated the Italian team and reached the final. 他们打败了意大利队，晋身决赛。
Synonyms: annihilate beat (DEFEAT)conquercrush (BEAT)hammer (DEFEAT) thrash (DEFEAT) trounce
See also: self-defeating
B2 使失败，使落空
to cause someone or something to fail
The proposal to change the rules was narrowly defeated (= by a very small number) by 201 votes to 196. 变更规则的提案以196票对201票的微弱劣势未获通过。
Our ambitions for this tournament have been defeated by the weather. 天气使我们赢得锦标赛的雄心壮志落空了。
I'm afraid anything that involves language learning has always defeated me (= I have been unable to do it). 恐怕凡是与语言学习沾边的事都会把我难倒。
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- The French were defeated at Waterloo in 1815.
- The team were overwhelmingly defeated in yesterday's game.
- The North defeated the South in the American Civil War.
- The bill was defeated in the Commons by 249 votes to 131.
- The four-times champion was unexpectedly defeated in the second round of the competition.
defeat
noun [ C or U ] uk/dɪˈfiːt/ us/dɪˈfiːt/
B1 失败；战败；落败
the fact of losing against someone in a fight or competition, or when someone or something is made to fail
In the last election, they suffered a crushing/humiliating defeat. 在上次大选中，他们一败涂地。
After their defeat in battle, the soldiers surrendered. 士兵们在战斗中被打败后就投降了。
She admitted/conceded defeat well before all the votes had been counted. 选票统计远未完成，她就承认竞选失败了。
Compare: victory
admit defeat 认输，承认失败
to accept that you have failed and give up
After several attempts to untie the knot, I admitted defeat and cut through it with a knife. 我试了几次都没有把这个结解开，最后认输了，就用刀子把它割开了。
He is trailing in the polls but still refuses to admit defeat.
Moving back in with my parents felt like admitting defeat.
See also: admit (ACCEPT)
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- The Democrats suffered a crushing defeat in the last election.
- Her silence was taken as an admission of defeat.
- He was famed for his stubborn resistance and his refusal to accept defeat.
- Saturday's 2-0 defeat dashed their hopes of reaching the final.
- His defeat in the world championship led to a long period of gloomy introspection.