admit defeat

idiom

: to admit that one has been defeated
Although she did poorly in the first round, she has refused to admit defeat.

Examples of admit defeat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
If Northvolt can’t turn it around, EU governments would come under pressure to effectively admit defeat and open the door for Chinese players to establish more factories in Europe in order to keep the region’s EV transition alive. Shawn Tully, Fortune Europe, 10 Oct. 2024 Cohn's three rules for winning — always attack, deny everything, and never admit defeat — remain core tenets of Trump's political playbook. EW.com, 3 Oct. 2024 Sign up Chaos and ugliness seem all but certain in November because our two-party democracy needs one side to admit defeat and walk away. Theunis Bates, theweek, 1 Oct. 2024 There also is a portion devoted to Roy Cohn, the bulldog Manhattan attorney who became a bit of a mentor to Trump, teaching him to never admit defeat and to always fight back. Ted Johnson, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for admit defeat 

Dictionary Entries Near admit defeat

Cite this Entry

“Admit defeat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/admit%20defeat. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!