defile : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: defile	by the DICT Development Group
5 results for defile
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
defile n a narrow pass (especially one between mountains) [syn: defile, gorge] v place under suspicion or cast doubt upon; "sully someone's reputation" Synonym(s): defile, sully, corrupt, taint, cloud make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically; "The silver was tarnished by the long exposure to the air"; "Her reputation was sullied after the affair with a married man" Synonym(s): tarnish, stain, maculate, sully, defile spot, stain, or pollute; "The townspeople defiled the river by emptying raw sewage into it" Synonym(s): foul, befoul, defile, maculate
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Defile \De*file"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Defiled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Defiling}.] [F. d[82]filer; pref. d[82]-, for des- (L. dis-) + file a row or line. See {File} a row.] To march off in a line, file by file; to file off.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Defile \De*file"\, v. t. (Mil.) Same as {Defilade}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Defile \De*file"\ (?; 277), n. [Cf. F. d[82]fil[82], fr. d[82]filer to defile.] 1. Any narrow passage or gorge in which troops can march only in a file, or with a narrow front; a long, narrow pass between hills, rocks, etc. 2. (Mil.) The act of defilading a fortress, or of raising the exterior works in order to protect the interior. See {Defilade}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Defile \Defile"\, v. t. [OE. defoulen, -foilen, to tread down, OF. defouler; de- + fouler to trample (see {Full}, v. t.), and OE. defoulen to foul (influenced in form by the older verb defoilen). See {File} to defile, {Foul}, {Defoul}.] 1. To make foul or impure; to make filthy; to dirty; to befoul; to pollute. They that touch pitch will be defiled. --Shak. 2. To soil or sully; to tarnish, as reputation; to taint. He is . . . among the greatest prelates of this age, however his character may be defiled by . . . dirty hands. --Swift. 3. To injure in purity of character; to corrupt. Defile* not yourselves with the idols of Egypt. --Ezek. xx. 7. 4. To corrupt the chastity of; to debauch; to violate. The husband murder'd and the wife defiled. --Prior. 5. To make ceremonially unclean; to pollute. That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile therewith. --Lev. xxii. 8.