defect

defect

I

de‧fect¹ /dɪˈfekt, ˈdiːfekt/ noun [countable]a fault or a lack of something that means that something or someone is not perfect:
    All the cars are tested for defects before they leave the factory.
    a genetic defect
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + defect
   ▪ a serious defect The movie has a few serious defects.
   ▪ a major defect (=very serious) They have found a major defect in the program.
   ▪ a slight/minor defect There are one or two minor defects on the car’s paintwork.
   ▪ a physical defect Doctors examined the baby and could find no physical defects.
   ▪ a structural defect Older buildings are bound to have some structural defects.
   ▪ a genetic/inherited defect (=one that is passed to you in your genes) The condition is caused by a genetic defect.
   ▪ a birth defect (=one that you are born with) About 11% of children have birth defects.
   ▪ a heart defect Laura was born with a rare heart defect.
   ▪ a speech defect (=an incorrect way of saying certain sounds) He had a speech defect which made it quite difficult to understand him.
   ▪ a character defect (=a fault in your character) Laziness was just one of his character defects.
■ verbs
   ▪ have a defect The old system had some serious defects.
   ▪ correct a defect She had surgery to correct a defect in her right eye.
     

THESAURUS

■ something wrong
   ▪ fault a problem in a machine, system, design etc that causes damage or makes it not work properly: The fire was caused by an electrical fault. | a fault in the engine
   ▪ defect a fault in something such as a product or machine, resulting from the way it was made or designed: Cars are tested for defects before they leave the factory.
   ▪ weakness a part of a plan, system, or argument that is not as good as the other parts, and makes it likely to fail: What are the strengths and weaknesses of each method?
   ▪ flaw a fault in a plan, system, argument etc, especially one that makes it useless or not effective: Your argument has a fundamental flaw. | There was one major flaw in his suggestion – we didn’t have enough money.
   ▪ bug a fault in a computer program: A bug in the system was quickly fixed.
   ▪ glitch a small fault in the way something works, that can usually be easily corrected: I noticed a small glitch when installing the software.
   ▪ mistake something that is wrong in someone’s spelling, grammar, calculations etc: The article was full of spelling mistakes.
   ▪ there’s something wrong with something used when saying that there is a problem in a machine, car etc, but you do not know what it is: There’s something wrong with the computer – it won’t close down.

II

defect² /dɪˈfekt/ verb [intransitive]to leave your own country or group in order to go to or join an opposing one
    defect to/from
    a Russian actor who defected to the West
—defector noun [countable]
—defection /dɪˈfekʃən/ noun [uncountable and countable]