defeat and defect differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. defeat means “an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest”. defect means “an imperfection in a bodily system”. defeat is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/dɪˈfit/
1.n.an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest
“it was a narrow defeat”
2.n.the feeling that accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining your goals
3.v.win a victory over
“You must overcome all difficulties”
/ˈdifɛkt/
1.n.an imperfection in a bodily system
“visual defects”
2.n.a failing or deficiency
“that interpretation is an unfortunate defect of our lack of information”
3.n.an imperfection in an object or machine
“a flaw caused the crystal to shatter”
| defeat | defect | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /dɪˈfit/ | /ˈdifɛkt/ |
| Said | di-FEET | DEE-fekt |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Letters | 6 | 6 |
| Parts of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb |
| Senses | 4 | 5 |
| How common | Common | Familiar |
| Synonyms | licking | none recorded |
Full entry for defeat · Full entry for defect · More comparisons