defeat
/dɪˈfit/verb, noun
defeat is spelled D-E-F-E-A-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,941st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, defeat means “To overcome in battle or contest” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in defeat?
| Letters | 6: D-E-F-E-A-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 32 times per million words; the 2,941st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is defeat?
Defeat appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,941st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce defeat?
- UK /dɪˈfiːt/
- US /dɪˈfit/
- US /diˈfit/
Defeat has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-defeat.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with defeat?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as defeat from its last stressed vowel (/it/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of defeat
- defeats present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- defeating participle, present
- defeated participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does defeat mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To overcome in battle or contest.
Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.
- 2
To reduce, to nothing, the strength of.
- 3
To nullify
- 4
To prevent (something) from being achieved.
noun
- 1
The act or instance of being defeated, of being overcome or vanquished; a loss.
Licking their wounds after a temporary defeat, they planned their next move.
- 2
The act or instance of defeating, of overcoming, vanquishing.
The inscription records her defeat of the country's enemies in a costly war.
- 3
Frustration (by prevention of success), stymieing; (law) nullification.
- 4
obsoleteDestruction, ruin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Defeat in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vaincre, défaire , contrecarrer, réduire à néant, anéantir , défaite |
| German | schlagen, besiegen, niederringen, bewältigen, bezwingen , zunichtemachen |
| Portuguese | derrotar, vencer , derrota |
| Spanish | derrotar, vencer, profligar, causear, despanchurrar, despachurrar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does defeat come from?
From Middle English defeten, from Middle English defet (“disfigured”, past participle) and defet (“defect”, noun), see Etymology 2 below.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).