Definition of "defile" []

• To make filthy or dirty; pollute: defile a river with sewage. (verb-transitive)
• To debase the pureness or excellence of; corrupt: a country landscape that was defiled by urban sprawl. (verb-transitive)
• To profane or sully (a reputation, for example). (verb-transitive)
• To make unclean or unfit for ceremonial use; desecrate: defile a temple. (verb-transitive)
• To violate the chastity of. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "That reached, compensation for the ugly scenery we had to pass through began when we entered a beautiful mountain defile, about two hours from Damascus."
• "The defile was a death trap, where huge pistons shot out and slammed across from side to side."
• "A jagged chasm ran across the cavern, and on the other side of the defile was a writhing sea of furred flesh and sharp teeth."