Meaning & use
defect
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Meanings
nouncountable
A flaw or weakness that spoils something or stops it working properly.
Grammar: Often followed by in: a defect in the design.
Patterns
- a defect in something
- a defect of something
The factory recalled the cars because of a safety defect.
A tiny defect in the glass caused it to crack.
The doctor checked the baby for any birth defect.
verbintransitive
To leave a country, group or cause and go over to an opposing one.
Grammar: Stressed on the second syllable (/dɪˈfekt/). Followed by to or from.
Patterns
- defect to somewhere
- defect from something
Several athletes defected during the tournament.
A scientist defected to the West in the 1980s.
Two members defected from the party before the vote.
Word forms
| plural | defects |
|---|---|
| verb third person singular | defects |
| verb past tense | defected |
| verb -ing form | defecting |
Common combinations
- a birth defect
- The clinic helps children with birth defects.
- a manufacturing defect
- The recall followed a manufacturing defect.
- a design defect
- A design defect made the chair unstable.
- a major defect
- The inspector found a major defect in the wiring.
- defect to
- The pilot defected to a neighboring country.
Synonyms and how they differ
- flaw
- Flaw suits a small imperfection or a weakness in a plan or character.
- fault
- Fault often points to responsibility or a break in a machine.
- imperfection
- An imperfection is a minor, sometimes charming blemish and is gentler than defect.
- shortcoming
- A shortcoming is a weakness in ability or character, not in an object.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: defect or deflect?
defect vs deflect
Deflect means to turn aside, such as a ball or a question. It is not a flaw.
Practice
The company recalled thousands of toasters because of a wiring ___.
Choose one answer.
A defect is a flaw in a product. Defeat means losing, deficit means a shortfall in money, and deflect means to turn aside.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “defect”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.