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Fig.: To stain; to sully; to tarnish. His unkindness may defeat my life, But never taint my love. Shak.

Bequeathed by will; given by testament. How many testamentary charities have been defeated by the negligence or fraud of executors! Atterbury.

cross, as a purpose; to oppose; to run counter to; to contravene; hence, to frustrate or defeat. If crooked fortune had not thwarted me. Shak. The proposals of the one never thwarted the inclinations of the other. South.

To defeat; to put an end to. [R.] He vacates my revenge. Dryden.

Hence, to defeat in any contest; to get the better of; to put down; to refute. This bold assertion has been fully vanquished in a late reply to the Bishop of Meaux's treatise. Atterbury. For e'en though vanquished, he could argue still. Goldsmith.

t . . . afford us nothing but vexation and pain. Sir W. Temple. Those who saw him after a defeat looked in vain for any trace of vexation. Macaulay.

he winner in a contest; one who gets the better of another in any struggle; esp., one who defeats an enemy in battle; a vanquisher; a conqueror; -- often followed by art, rarely by of. In love, the victors from the vanquished fly; They fly that wound, and they pursue that die. Waller.

The defeat of an enemy in battle, or of an antagonist in any contest; a gaining of the superiority in any struggle or competition; conquest; triumph; -- the opposite of Ant: defeat. Death is swallowed up in victory. 1 Cor. xv. 54. God on our side, doubt not of victory. Shak. Victory may be honorable to the arms, but sh…

attempt us again. Shak. Little wastes in great establishments, constantly occurring, may defeat the energies of a mighty capital. L. Beecher.

ve combat; something to fight with; anything used, or designed to be used, in destroying, defeating, or injuring an enemy, as a gun, a sword, etc. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. 2 Cor. x. 4. They, astonished, all resistance lost, All courage; down their idle weapons dropped. Milton.

To conquer; to defeat, as in a contest or game; to beat; to surpass. [Slang, U. S.]

Loss; disadvantage; defeat. "Judah was put to the worse before Israel." Kings xiv. 12.

To gain advantage over, in contest or competition; to get the better of; to defeat; to overthrow; to discomfit. The . . . Philistines were worsted by the captivated ark. South.