as in overcoming
to achieve a victory over
they defeated their archrivals easily and moved into the next round of the play-offs
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Recent Examples of defeating
In large part because the only feeling more satisfying than defeating your enemies is that of defeating your friends.
—
Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 25 Apr. 2026
When the Lakers last came to Houston, defeating the Rockets twice in three days, Rockets coach Ime Udoka appeared to tell Redick to put Bronny James in the game.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 25 Apr. 2026
Cooper’s Indiana squad also won the national championship after defeating Miami.
—Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 24 Apr. 2026
Letlow is not handily defeating Cassidy at this point in the race, and pro-Cassidy outside spending — mostly raining down on Letlow — dwarfs his opponents.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 24 Apr. 2026
The Minneapolis Lakers become the first team to win back-to-back NBA championships by defeating the Syracuse Nationals 110-95 in Game 6 of the finals.
—Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
In 2007, with Ancelotti at the helm, AC Milan cruised to its first FIFA Club World Cup title after defeating Boca Juniors of Argentina 4–2.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Apr. 2026
Cox was famously the last player cut from the 1980 United States Olympic hockey team, a group that would author the most celebrated moment in the history of American sports by defeating the Soviet Union, and winning the gold medal.
—Mac Engel
april 21, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2026
Ben Shelton bounced back from disappointment last year by defeating Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 7-5 to win the Munich Open on Sunday.
—ABC News, 19 Apr. 2026
Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 25 Apr. 2026
When the Lakers last came to Houston, defeating the Rockets twice in three days, Rockets coach Ime Udoka appeared to tell Redick to put Bronny James in the game.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 25 Apr. 2026
Cooper’s Indiana squad also won the national championship after defeating Miami.
—Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 24 Apr. 2026
Letlow is not handily defeating Cassidy at this point in the race, and pro-Cassidy outside spending — mostly raining down on Letlow — dwarfs his opponents.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 24 Apr. 2026
The Minneapolis Lakers become the first team to win back-to-back NBA championships by defeating the Syracuse Nationals 110-95 in Game 6 of the finals.
—Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
In 2007, with Ancelotti at the helm, AC Milan cruised to its first FIFA Club World Cup title after defeating Boca Juniors of Argentina 4–2.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Apr. 2026
Cox was famously the last player cut from the 1980 United States Olympic hockey team, a group that would author the most celebrated moment in the history of American sports by defeating the Soviet Union, and winning the gold medal.
—Mac Engel
april 21, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2026
Ben Shelton bounced back from disappointment last year by defeating Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 7-5 to win the Munich Open on Sunday.
—ABC News, 19 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defeating
Verb
-
More Than One Way to Survive in Business Entrepreneurs have been positioned to accept that overcoming the competition is the only way to succeed in business, but there may be other paths forward.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
1 May 2026
-
The Blackbeard project aims to achieve all this while overcoming the obstacles that have hindered previous attempts at hypersonic weaponry.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Across industries — creative, legal, financial, technical — the systems people like myself spent careers mastering are being rewritten.—
Matti Yahav,
Fortune,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Regardless of their final career path, every intern's first assignment is learning to be a docent, mastering the art of guiding visitors on a tour.—
La'Tasha Givens,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Congratulations to 16-year-old Mathis Albert, who came on as a late substitute for Dortmund and became the youngest American to play in the Bundesliga, beating Gio Reyna’s record.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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Aside from beating the stuffing out of a life-sized penguin plushie, Gritty has mocked — and stalked — the team's fans.—
Kaitlyn McCormick,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Built by Blueprint Construction with structural engineering by Design Point, the East River Residence demonstrates that conquering challenging terrain sometimes means floating above it.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
23 Apr. 2026
-
One after another, the avatars of Democratic success in Georgia took the stage Saturday and were greeted like conquering heroes by hundreds of party faithful at the annual Carter-Lewis gala.—
Greg Bluestein,
AJC.com,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Harry and Meghan stepped back from their senior royal roles in 2020 due to media intrusion and racist coverage, eventually taking residence in Canada and, later, California, with their two children – Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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Brown said Atlanta was taking away the Knicks’ spray game, which made the answer simpler.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Plane tickets are getting pricier After jumping to $209 a barrel in early April, the global price of jet fuel eased last week to around $179, still well above the roughly $99 at the end of February.—
Mae Anderson,
Chicago Tribune,
1 May 2026
-
Since getting sober, Holland's life has been a whirlwind.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
1 May 2026
Verb
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The name Business Wire likely derives from the terms news wires or wire services, which recall the mid-19th-century method of dispatching news via telegraph, sending electrical signals via wire across great distances.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 Apr. 2026
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After dispatching her parents from Phoenix to inspect the property, the couple decided to go ahead with the purchase.—
Jonathan Bullington,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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That led many to believe that, while treatments and crisis care are vital, the goal of suicide prevention needs to expand beyond stopping people from dying to also giving them reasons to live.—
Aneri Pattani,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Bain walked purposefully, never slowing, never stopping — not even to size himself up in his new Bucs hat in the mirror — before striding onstage for a hug with the commissioner.—
Zak Keefer,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defeating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defeating. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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