From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishadmit defeatadmit defeatSTOP DOING somethingto stop trying to do something because you realize you cannot succeed For Haskill, selling the restaurant would be admitting defeat. → admit
Examples from the Corpus
admit defeat• After half an hour she had to admit defeat.• He had already summed her up as some one who hated to admit defeat.• He loathed the boot and complained about it constantly, but he wouldn't admit defeat.• Leafy and Obey stayed away for close to an hour, returning at last after midnight to admit defeat.• The Novartis team put up a valiant fight, but admit defeat.• He came wandering towards me, obviously having admitted defeat, and I fell in beside him, companionably in step.• Haskill refuses to admit defeat and sell the restaurant.• To leave was to admit defeat in this peculiar ritual of making myself known. 