The problem of how defect concentrations produced in a shock experiment affect the isothermal equation of state is considered. From the few experimental results available that bear directly on this question, it appears the effect could be substantial, i.e., the pressure in material free of defects may be 10–25% lower at a given volume than the isothermal pressure deduced from Hugoniot data on the assumption that defects are negligible in the shocked material. This correction caused by the presence of defects is called the defect pressure.