admit defeat

verb
UK: /ədˌmɪt dɪˈfiːt/
US: /ədˌmɪt dɪˈfiːt/

  1. To accept that you have lost a battle, game, or competition.

    1. I had to admit defeat, he was better. [ ] [ ]
    2. After a week of trying to fix the car, I had to admit defeat and call a mechanic. [ ] [ ]

  2. To acknowledge failure in achieving a goal or resolving a problem.

    1. They admit defeat and stopped fighting. [ ] [ ]
    2. Facing insurmountable obstacles, the company had to admit defeat and abandon the project. [ ] [ ]

Synonyms

give up surrender capitulate yield concede succumb
admit defeat noun

  1. The act of acknowledging that one has been beaten in a contest or has failed to achieve something.

    1. His admit defeat was hard to watch. [ ] [ ]
    2. The team's admit defeat after the final game was met with disappointment from fans. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "admit defeat" in English means: To accept that you have lost a battle, game, or competition., To acknowledge failure in achieving a goal or resolving a problem..

The phonetic transcription of "admit defeat" is /ədˌmɪt dɪˈfiːt/ in British English and /ədˌmɪt dɪˈfiːt/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "admit defeat": give up, surrender, capitulate, yield, concede, succumb.

Example usage of "admit defeat": "I had to admit defeat, he was better.". More examples on the page.