The usual defeat in the end! (7)
I believe the answer is:
routine
'the usual' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'defeat in the end' is the wordplay.
'defeat' becomes 'rout' (rout is a kind of defeat).
'end' says to take the final letters.
The last letter of 'the' is 'e'.
'rout'+'in'+'e'='ROUTINE'
(Other definitions for routine that I've seen before include "Normal course of action" , "Daily agenda?" , "Unvarying set of actions" , "Regular unvarying course of action" , "Shtick" .)