de·feat vt [Anglo-French defait, past participle of defaire to undo, defeat, from Old French deffaire desfaire, from de -, prefix marking reversal of action + faire to do]
1 a: to render null
third parties will defeat an attached but “unperfected” security interest — J. J. White and R. S. Summers
b: to prevent or undo the effectiveness or establishment of
defeat jurisdiction
defendant took stand and defeat ed intoxication defense — National Law Journal
2 a: to prevail over
b: to thwart the claim of
defeat creditors
an intent to defeat the surviving spouse of his...elective share — Tennessee Code Annotated
defeat n
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.