Definition

In military and political contexts, to abandon your country or allegiance for the other side, usually bringing secrets or intel as a housewarming gift. In manufacturing, it's a flaw or malfunction that makes something not work as intended. Both involve something going wrong, but only one gets you a Wikipedia page and possibly a movie deal.

Example Usage

The quality control team found a defect in the circuit board, though thankfully it didn't defect to their competitor.

Source: Wiktionary via Free Dictionary API

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