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defect

[n. dee-fekt, dih-fekt; v. dih-fekt]

noun

a shortcoming, fault, or imperfection: a defect in an argument; a defect in a machine.

lack or want, especially of something essential to perfection or completeness; deficiency: a defect in hearing.

Also called crystal defect, lattice defect. Crystallography. a discontinuity in the lattice of a crystal caused by missing or extra atoms or ions, or by dislocations.

verb (used without object)

to desert a cause, country, etc., especially in order to adopt another (often followed by from or to): He defected from the U.S.S.R to the West.

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Defect is one of our favorite verbs.

So is skedaddle. Does it mean:

to run away hurriedly; flee.

to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.

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Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin dēfectus failure, weakness, equivalent to dēfec- variant stem of dēficere to run short, fail, weaken (see deficient) + -tus suffix of v. action

Related forms

de·fect·i·ble, adjective

de·fect·i·bil·i·ty, noun

de·fect·less, adjective

non·de·fect·ing, adjective

pre·de·fect, noun

EXPAND

re·de·fect, verb (used without object)

COLLAPSE

Synonyms
1. Defect, blemish, flaw refer to faults that detract from perfection. Defect is the general word for any kind of shortcoming or imperfection, whether literal or figurative: a defect in eyesight, in a plan. A blemish is usually a defect on a surface, which mars the appearance: a blemish on her cheek. Flaw is applied to a defect in quality, caused by imperfect structure (as in a diamond) or brought about during manufacture (as in texture of cloth, in clearness of glass, etc.).

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To defect

Example Sentences

Luteal phase defect is a disruption in the normal female menstrual cycle.

In every single one of those areas, there were a lot more men and women with the wall defect.

His fate was sealed by the leaking of a video in which he was seen bribing a congressman to defect to the government.

EXPAND

Luteal phase defect is a disruption in the normal female menstrual cycle.

In every single one of those areas, there were a lot more men and women with the wall defect.

His fate was sealed by the leaking of a video in which he was seen bribing a congressman to defect to the government.

There could be a manufacturing defect or flawed design, or the part may have been installed improperly, he noted.

The defect prevents the body from eliminating ammonia, a toxic breakdown product of protein metabolism.

They don't so much move to the city as defect to it, warmed by the glow of their burning bridges.

Cyclopia is a rare defect that affects about one child in a million.

Ventricular septal defect describes one or more holes in the wall that separates the right and left ventricles of the heart.

The answer is the electoral college and, to my mind, it represents the chief defect of that system of electing the president.

Rembrandt seems to have been born with an optical defect that prevented him from seeing the world in three dimensions.

He is an engineer and does structural defect investigations and is out in the sun a lot.

To him, every mental illness stemmed from a physical defect in the brain.

Her child was apparently born with a birth defect unrelated to surgery.

Pancreas divisum is a birth defect in which parts of the pancreas fail to join together.

They have myriad difficulties based upon what amounts to a physical defect.

And some elected opposition candidates are already thought eager to defect.

It borders on mental illness or intellectual defect.

Without treatment, the defect is usually fatal within the first several days of life.

The neurological defect in question, meningomyelocele, has since declined in incidence.

How idiotic to still cling to the outdated argument that if they don't make tens of millions of year they'll defect.

There is no proof for a genetic defect as cause for mental problems.

The company has not acknowledged a manufacturing defect.

And it is the first time that foods will be fortified to prevent a birth defect.

The fatal defect of paternalistic happiness research is revealed in your own articles.

But when there is a defect in the program or hardware, then all the results the computer spews out tend to be wrong.

The uterus would come from a live donor and go to someone who is missing a uterus due to a birth defect or surgery.

For that reason, soldiers still defect to al-Shabab in alarming numbers, albeit fewer than before.

Solid definition of test processes including experience using industry standard defect tracking and source control systems.

The structural defect causing this major problem can be stated simply:.

Its defect is the one that applies to all dictatorships: a policy built on one man is a policy built on sand.

The pharaoh may have had a genetic defect that gave him a feminine physique, a scientist says.

Felines apparently carry a defect in a gene that encodes part of the mammalian sweet taste receptor.

The gene therapy aims to cure two debilitating diseases caused by a defect in a single gene.

The defect occurs when the body does not produce enough of the hormone progesterone.

Scientists say they have isolated the genetic defect that.

However, can a defect in one field result in a more advanced level of.

The new government's only defect may be that it contains no young people.

Mark owes his breath-holding ability to a heart defect known as sinus bradycardia.

Moore had pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental defect.

Scientists believe a defect in chloride traffic leads to many of the symptoms of the disease.

And shows typical modern defect of deteriorated social awareness- lets build mathematical and economical model of happiness.

The mutation also produces an eyelid defect known as blepharophimosis in newborns.

In all cases where there is an eye defect, the speed of the movement of the rays indicates the severity of the defect.

Each defect is measured and logged for the systematic hunting down of quality problems.

The defect in this entire thing is so philosophical.

And in spite of the limitations of a given technology, they turn it around so that each defect becomes a positive quality.

It suffices to know that indiscretion, in a position of such difficulty and delicacy, is a capital defect.

It is usually a hidden defect because few children and young adults have electrocardiograms.

Help me get rid of it if there is a defect in this thinking.

No scientist has every decided to defect with proof of the conspiracy.

The team blames a manufacturing defect for the breakdown.

Indeed, the presence of those signs stands out in the book as almost a defect.

Perry could probably defect that attack if he tried.

And no form of music has as dense a defect density built into it as the structure of jazz".

People with this defect tend to suffer from heart attacks in their thirties.

The warranty company will send in someone else to fix any defect.

And it doesn't mean that if you have breast cancer you have a defect in this gene.

They need to find out what she has and breed cats with the same defect.

Warnings about the defect were ignored prior to the disaster for political reasons.

They also defect winds high into the jet stream where they get ripped off and carried away.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

defect

—n
1.	a lack of something necessary for completeness or perfection; shortcoming; deficiency
2.	an imperfection, failing, or blemish
3.	crystallog point defect See also dislocation a local deviation from regularity in the crystal lattice of a solid

—vb
4.	(intr) to desert one's country, cause, allegiance, etc, esp in order to join the opposing forces

[C15: from Latin dēfectus, from dēficere to forsake, fail; see deficient]

de'fector

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

defect

early 15c., from L. defectus "failure, revolt," from pp. of deficere "to fail, desert" (see deficient).

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

defect de·fect (dē'fěkt', dĭ-fěkt')
n.
A lack of or abnormality in something necessary for normal functioning; a deficiency or imperfection.

FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

defect definition

bug

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

defect

imperfection in the regular geometrical arrangement of the atoms in a crystalline solid. These imperfections result from deformation of the solid, rapid cooling from high temperature, or high-energy radiation (X-rays or neutrons) striking the solid. Located at single points, along lines, or on whole surfaces in the solid, these defects influence its mechanical, electrical, and optical behaviour.

Learn more about defect with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Matching Quote

"Few writers have had less journalistic talent than James, and this is his defect, for the supreme masters have one trait in common with the childish scribbling mass, the vulgar curiosity of a police-court reporter."

-W.H. Auden

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