Englishfor English speakers
a
Determinative
—
A is used when the following word could be any of a certain type.
Compare "A book I saw on the shelf" and "The book I gave you yesterday".
a
Noun
—
A is the first letter of the alphabet.
The letter "a" comes before "b".
—
In some schools, an A is a very high grade.
Ron got an A on his earth science test.
crushing
—
adjective
(= devastating)
physically or spiritually devastating; often used in combination
a crushing blow
a crushing rejection
bone-crushing
—
noun
(= suppression, quelling, stifling)
forceful prevention; putting down by power or authority
the suppression of heresy
the quelling of the rebellion
the stifling of all dissent
defeat
Verb
—
If you defeat someone, you win against them in a game, battle, or contest.
South Africa defeated Zimbabwe (170) by four wickets with four balls to spare.
American forces defeated a small band of fighters in a three-hour street battle last night.
When I was in school, I was good at English, but science always defeated me.
defeat
Noun
—
A defeat is a loss in a game, battle, or contest.
Dole went down in defeat in last night's elections.