Usual defeat in East (7)
I believe the answer is:
routine
'usual' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'defeat in east' is the wordplay.
'defeat' becomes 'rout' (routing is a kind of defeating).
'east' becomes 'e' (abbreviation).
'rout'+'in'+'e'='ROUTINE'
(Other definitions for routine that I've seen before include "Regular sequence of actions" , "Nothing unusual" , "Set sequence of actions" , "Variety act" , "Regular unvarying course of action" .)