defeating

Verb

defeat (third-person singular simple present defeats, present participle defeating, simple past and past participle defeated)

1. (transitive) To overcome in battle or contest.
   • Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.
2. (transitive) To reduce, to nothing, the strength of.
   • He finds himself naturally to dread a superior Being that can defeat all his designs, and disappoint all his hopes.1664, John Tillotson, “Sermon I. The Wisdom of Being Religious. Job XXVIII. 28.”, in The Works of the Most Reverend Dr. John Tillotson, Late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: […], London: […] B. Aylmer...
3. (transitive) To nullify
   • The escheators […] defeated the right heir of his succession.1827, Henry Hallam, The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII. to the Death of George II. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], →OCLC
4. To prevent (something) from being achieved.
   • The last active L.Y.R. 0-6-0ST (apart from works shunters), No. 51408, has been moved from Bolton to Agecroft for use in New Bailey Yard, Salford, where a sharp 1 in 27 curve is said to have defeated all attempts so far to employ diesel shunters; an ex-L.Y.R. 0-4-0ST also works here.1962 January, “Motive Power Miscellany: London Midland Region: Central Lines”, in Modern Railways, page 60

See all 8 meanings of defeat