defect
/ˈdiːfɛkt/noun, verb
defect is spelled D-E-F-E-C-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.8 times per million words in written English, the 11,541st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, defect means “A fault or malfunction” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of defect is defects.
How many letters and syllables are in defect?
| Letters | 6: D-E-F-E-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.8 times per million words; the 11,541st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is defect?
Defect appears 4.8 times per million words in written English, the 11,541st 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 defect?
- /ˈdiːfɛkt/
As a verb (“To abandon or turn against; to cease or change one's…”): /dɪˈfɛkt/.
Defect 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-defect.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-defect_(verb).wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of defect
- defects plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- defecting participle, present
- defected participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does defect mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A fault or malfunction.
a defect in the ear or eye; a defect in timber or iron; a defect of memory or judgment
- 2
The quantity or amount by which anything falls short.
- 3
A part by which a figure or quantity is wanting or deficient.
verb
- 1
To abandon or turn against; to cease or change one's loyalty, especially from a military organisation or political party.
- 2
To desert one's army, to flee from combat.
- 3
To join the enemy army.
- 4
To flee one's country and seek asylum.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Defect in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | défaut , déserter, passer à |
| German | Fehler, Defekt , überlaufen, sich zurückziehen, aussteigen, desertieren |
| Portuguese | defeito , trair, desertar |
| Spanish | falla, tacha, defecto, desperfecto , desertar, pasarse |
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 defect come from?
Borrowed from Latin defectus (“a failure, lack”), from deficere (“to fail, lack, literally 'undo'”), from past participle defectus, from de- (“of, from”) + facere (“to do”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).