defect
noun
de·fect
| \ ˈdē-ˌfekt
, di-ˈfekt
\
, di-ˈfekt
\
Definition of defect
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: an imperfection that impairs worth or utility : shortcoming
the grave defects in our foreign policy A defect prevented the DVD from playing properly.
b
chemistry
: an imperfection (such as a vacancy or an unlike atom) in a crystal lattice (see lattice sense 2)
2
: a lack of something necessary for completeness, adequacy, or perfection : deficiency
a hearing defect
defect
verb
de·fect
| \ di-ˈfekt
\
\
defected;
defecting;
defects
Definition of defect (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: to forsake one cause, party, or nation for another often because of a change in ideology
a former KGB agent who defected to America
2
: to leave one situation (such as a job) often to go over to a rival
the reporter defected to another network
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Other Words from defect
Verb
defector
\ di-ˈfek-tər
\
noun
\
noun
Synonyms for defect
Synonyms: Noun
blemish, blight, blotch, deformity, disfigurement, excrescence, excrescency, fault, flaw, imperfection, mar, mark, pockmark, scar
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Examples of defect in a Sentence
Noun
They examine their products for defects. She was born with a heart defect. Vanity and pride were his two worst character defects.Verb
The Russian scholar defected in 1979. She defected from the conservative party. He defected to the West before the war began. The reporter defected to another TV network.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Pamela Coleman Jefferson, 72, who spent 34 years at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing as a security processor — examining money for defects — before retiring in 2002, died July 3 at her home in Rio Rancho, N.M. — Washington Post, "Community deaths," 22 Aug. 2019 Outside the cave, a worker moved quickly across rows of barrels, siphoning wine through a glass tube from each of them, tasting for defects and spitting out each sample. — Margot Roosevelt, Los Angeles Times, "The latest casualty of Trump’s trade war with China? California wine," 18 Aug. 2019 Phoenix was born with a heart defect called double outlet right ventricle, which means her heart can't properly circulate oxygen around her body. — Scottie Andrew And Pete Burn, CNN, "A Maryland baby taken off life support was not expected to survive. Now she's about to have her first birthday.," 11 Aug. 2019 Left in neutral, the vehicle — a model that had been recalled for defects — had rolled down his driveway and pinned him, fatally injuring the 27-year-old Jewish actor. — Stephen Silver, sun-sentinel.com, "Jewish actor Anton Yelchin remembered in documentary," 7 Aug. 2019 Her son Ben was born on Feb. 9 with a heart defect. — Char Adams, PEOPLE.com, "36 Nurses at Missouri Hospital Expected to Give Birth This Year: 'Raising These Babies Together'," 6 Aug. 2019 The image analysis looks for defects in the surface of the wafer, from tiny scratches to errors in the photographic process and everything else in between. — Wayne Rash, Ars Technica, "Manufacturing memory means scribing silicon in a sea of sensors," 21 June 2019 Looking for defects in the rich club and examining other network measures, such as the number and structure of connections, is showing early promise in illuminating the disorder. — Quanta Magazine, "In Brain’s ‘Rich Club,’ Meetings of the Mind," 24 Oct. 2013 On Friday, volunteer dental veterinarians and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium staff gathered to work on Kirana the Sumatran tiger, who needed to have a complicated crown-root fracture and a periodontal defect tended to. — Alan Berner, The Seattle Times, "How do you perform dental work on a tiger? Very carefully.," 16 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
In addition to the losing control of the parliamentary agenda, Johnson also lost his working majority when Conservative Party lawmaker Phillip Lee defected to the rival Liberal Democrats. — Fox News, "British PM Boris Johnson dealt major blow as opponents seize parliamentary agenda control," 3 Sep. 2019 The Fifties brainwashing panic was a response to Stalin’s show trials, ideological coercion in Mao’s China, and, above all, defecting American soldiers in Korea. — Christopher Tayler, Harper's magazine, "New Books," 19 Aug. 2019 Its economy is teetering on the brink of collapse, and its international allies have either stayed silent over Kashmir or defected in support of India. — Maria Abi-habib, New York Times, "Pakistan Runs Out of Options as India Tightens Grip on Kashmir," 9 Aug. 2019 The chain has struggled to turn business around, hobbled by steeply rising rents as cash runs short and consumers defect to other outlets. — Fortune, "Barneys is Talking With Another Lender for Chapter 11 Turnaround," 5 Aug. 2019 Congenital heart defects is a leading cause of death among infants with birth defects, according to the study. — Erin Douglas, Houston Chronicle, "Infants with mothers living near oil and gas production at higher risk of heart defects: study," 18 July 2019 After an extensive investigation, police filed charges against defected followers Rudy Hannon, 72, and Sorek Minery, 42, two former members of The Work. — Chris Harris, PEOPLE.com, "Inside a Connecticut Sex Cult Overseen By a Man Who Claimed to Be Jesus," 24 June 2019 Winning those voters who defected from the two major parties would be an important step for either party. — Stuart Rothenberg, Twin Cities, "Stuart Rothenberg: How third-party votes sunk Clinton, what they mean for Trump," 6 Aug. 2019 In October 2015, Lopez was one of four members of the Cuban Under-23 national team to defect before an Olympic qualifying match vs. Panama in Kansas City, Kan. — Terrence Thomas, ExpressNews.com, "SAFC forward’s game is a world apart," 2 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'defect.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for defect
defect
noun
English Language Learners Definition of defect
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a physical problem that causes something to be less valuable, effective, healthy, etc.
: something that causes weakness or failure