GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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Found 3 definitions

1.       
   Defect (?), n. [L. defectus, fr. deficere, defectum, to desert, fail, be wanting; de- + facere to make, do. See Fact, Feat, and cf. Deficit.]
   1. Want or absence of something necessary for completeness or perfection; deficiency; -- opposed to superfluity.
   
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   Errors have been corrected, and defects supplied. Davies.
   
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   2. Failing; fault; imperfection, whether physical or moral; blemish; as, “a defect in the ear or eye; a defect in timber or iron; a defect of memory or judgment.”
   
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   Trust not yourself; but, your defects to know,
   
   Make use of every friend -- and every foe. Pope.
   
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   Among boys little tenderness is shown to personal defects. Macaulay.
   
   Syn. -- Deficiency; imperfection; blemish. See Fault.
   
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2.       
   Defect, v. i. To fail; to become deficient. [Obs.] “Defected honor.” Warner.
   
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   2. to abandon one country or faction, and join another.
   
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3.       
   Defect, v. t. To injure; to damage. “None can my life defect.” [R.] Troubles of Q. Elizabeth (1639).
   
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