De*fect" , v. t. To injure; to damage. "None can my life
defect." [R.]
Troubles of Q. Elizabeth
(1639).
De*fect" , v. i. To fail; to become deficient.
[Obs.]
"Defected honor." Warner.
De*fect" (?), 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.
Errors have been
corrected, and defects supplied.
Davies. 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.
Trust not yourself; but, your defects to know,
Make use of every
friend -- and every foe.
Pope. Among boys little tenderness is shown to personal defects.
Macaulay. Syn. -- Deficiency; imperfection; blemish.
See Fault.
Hear it pronounced