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# defective

adjective (defective; more defective, most defective)

«defective» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Not working properly because something is wrong with it; having a fault. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defective/#m1)
2. (old, offensive) Used in the past about people with disabilities; this use is now hurtful and should not be used. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defective/#m2)

### In the lessons

In everyday life and shopping, a defective product is faulty and can be returned or replaced. In science lessons a defective circuit has a broken part. Phrases: «defective goods», «a defective part», «return a defective item», «defective brakes».

### Examples

- The toaster was defective, so we took it back to the shop. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defective/#x1)
- A defective wire caused the light to flicker. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defective/#x2)
- The company recalled cars with defective brakes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defective/#x3)
- One of the bulbs in the set was defective. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defective/#x4)
- You can get a refund for defective goods. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defective/#x5)
- The bike was defective — the chain kept slipping. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defective/#x6)

### Note

Noun: «defect» (a fault). Do not confuse with «deficient» (not having enough). Never use it to describe people. In maths problems, if 3 out of 50 items are defective, 47 are good.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «defective» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defective/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«defective» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/defective.html) on Mova free.