Defeated means to be beaten or overcome in a contest, battle, or struggle. When your soccer team loses the championship game, you've been defeated. When a general's army loses a battle, that army has been defeated. The word captures that moment when someone or something you were competing against proves stronger, smarter, or luckier than you.

Being defeated means losing despite your efforts. You can fight hard, try your best, and still be defeated. History remembers many honorable defeats where people fought bravely but simply couldn't win.

The word can also describe a discouraged feeling. When a problem seems impossible to solve, you might feel defeated before you've even really tried. A student staring at difficult homework might slump in their chair with a defeated look on their face. This kind of defeat happens in your mind, when you convince yourself something can't be done.

Sometimes people talk about defeating problems or challenges, like defeating hunger or defeating a disease. This shows that defeat isn't just about competitions between people: it's about any struggle where one side eventually overcomes the other.