defeat

defeat既可以作动词表示“打败、使计划落空”，也可以作名词表示“失败、败北”或“击败对手的行动”。它的核心画面是：把对手或目标的力量压下去，使其无法取胜或成功。

💡 记忆钩子

把defeat想成一场较量中“一方被压倒”：作动词时，是你压倒对手，或让对方的计划无法实现；作名词时，是这种压倒造成的“败北”，也可以指击败对手这一行动。由战场上的胜负，还能自然引申到挫败尝试、阻止目标实现。

📝 学习建议

先掌握“打败对手”和“失败、败北”这两个核心义，再扩展到“使计划落空”。不要只把defeat理解成身体上的击打，它也常指抽象目标或计划被挫败。

📖 中文释义

noun

core 失败；败北

📖 指一方在比赛、斗争或竞争中输掉，也就是被对手压倒的结果。它强调“输掉这一次”的结果，而不只是一般意义上的不成功。

💡 常用“suffer a defeat”“admit defeat”或“a temporary defeat”来表示经历、承认或描述一次败北。这个义项通常指具体的一次失败，因此常用可数形式；谈“失败本身”时也可以用不可数形式。不要把它和表示“失败者”的词混为一谈。

countable uncountable

The team suffered a narrow defeat in the final.

这支队伍在决赛中惜败。
common 击败；战胜

📖 指击败某人、某军队或某个对手这一行动本身，重点在“谁把谁压倒”，而不是被击败后的失败结果。

💡 常见结构是“the defeat of + 被击败者”，例如谈击败一支球队或一个敌人。这个义项较正式，尤其常见于历史、政治和体育报道；日常口语中也可根据语境直接说“赢了对方”。注意它表示击败行为，和s1表示遭遇失败的结果方向相反。

countable uncountable

The defeat of the defending champions shocked the fans.

卫冕冠军被击败让球迷们大为震惊。
common 挫败；使无效

📖 指通过阻止或破坏，使某个计划、主张或权利无法产生预期效果；这里不一定有真正的比赛。

💡 常见结构是“the defeat of + 计划/提议/权利”或“a defeat for + 某方”。它常用于政治、法律和正式书面语，表示某项动议被否决或某种权利、主张被置于无效状态。不要只把它理解为军事上的“战败”。

countable uncountable

The vote was a major defeat for the proposed reform.

这次投票是对拟议改革的一次重大挫败。
rare 毁坏；毁灭

📖 这是古旧用法，指把某物彻底毁坏或使其不复存在，可看作“压倒并摧毁”的极端结果。

💡 现代英语中几乎不用这个义项，通常只会在古典文学或历史文本中遇到。学习和写作时不要用它来替代普通的“失败”或“击败”。若上下文没有明显的古旧文体，优先按其他义项理解。

countable obsolete uncountable

defeats plural

verb

core 打败；战胜

📖 指在战争、比赛、争论或其他竞争中战胜对手，让对方失去取胜的机会。它是“把对手压倒”的最直接用法。

💡 常用结构是“defeat + 对手”，例如“defeat an opponent”或“defeat a team”。它是及物动词，后面直接接被打败的一方；不要说成需要介词连接的结构。它比单纯表示“赢”的词更强调经过较量后使对方落败。

transitive

Our school defeated its biggest rival by two points.

我们学校以两分之差击败了最大的对手。
common 压制；使力量失效

📖 指把某种力量、能力或影响压制到无法发挥作用的程度，不一定是正式比赛中的胜负。它把“击败对手”的画面扩展到了更抽象的力量。

💡 常见结构是“defeat + fear/evil/an enemy force”等，宾语可以是具体力量，也可以是抽象势力。这个义项常见于正式、文学或政治语境，语气比普通的“克服”更有对抗感。若只是说逐渐处理困难，不一定要用这个词。

transitive

The medicine helped defeat the infection.

这种药帮助消除了感染。
rare 使无效；废止

📖 指依法或通过正式程序使某项权利、主张或法律效果失效，是“压倒其效力”的古旧或法律用法。

💡 现代普通英语中很少这样使用，主要可能出现在旧法律文献或法律史文本中。它的宾语通常是权利、继承资格等法律概念，而不是普通的人或物。学习者在现代写作中不应把它当作“取消”的常用替代词。

transitive
common 使无法实现；挫败

📖 指阻止某个计划、尝试、希望或目标成功，使它最终无法实现。这里被“击败”的不是人，而是对方想完成的事情。

💡 常见结构是“defeat + a plan/an attempt/one’s hopes”，也可以说某种困难或事件“defeated”某人的努力。这个义项常用于正式叙述，但在新闻、工作和日常谈计划受阻时都很有用。不要把它误解为“证明某计划错误”，重点是让计划无法成功。

Heavy rain defeated our attempt to reach the summit.

大雨使我们登顶的尝试落空了。

defeats present,singular,third-person defeating participle,present defeated participle,past defeated past defeat first-person,present,singular defeated first-person,past,singular defeat present,second-person,singular defeatest archaic,present,second-person,singular defeated past,second-person,singular defeatedst archaic,past,second-person,singular defeateth archaic,present,singular,third-person defeated past,singular,third-person defeat plural,present defeated past,plural defeat present,subjunctive defeated past,subjunctive defeat imperative,present - imperative,past

📘 英文释义 (WordNet) 共 4 组

win a victory over; ; ; ;

同义词集: get the better of overcome defeat

You must overcome all difficulties

defeat your enemies

He overcame his shyness

He overcame his infirmity

Her anger got the better of her and she blew up

下位: beat, beat out, come through, conquer, crush, demolish, destroy, down, expel, lurch, make it, nose, overrun, pull round, pull through, rout, rout out, shell, skunk, survive, trounce, upset, vanquish

thwart the passage of;

同义词集: kill shoot down defeat vote down vote out

kill a motion

he shot down the student's proposal

上位: blackball, negative, veto

an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest; ;

同义词集: defeat licking

it was a narrow defeat

the army's only defeat

they suffered a convincing licking

反义: triumph, victory 上位: conclusion, ending, failure, finish 下位: debacle, drubbing, lurch, rout, shutout, skunk, slaughter, thrashing, trouncing, walloping, waterloo, whipping, whitewash

the feeling that accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining your goals

同义词集: frustration defeat

上位: disappointment, letdown

🌳 词源

来自中古英语，词源与法语中表示“拆开、 undo”的词有关，后来发展出“使对方失去胜算、击败”的意思。

From Middle English defet, from French deffet, desfait, past participle of the verb desfaire (compare modern French défaire), from des- + faire.

🔄 变式

- imperat defeated 1st_sg defeatedst archaic defeatest archaic defeateth archaic defeating present defeats plural

🏷 单词标签 & 词根