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Despite, in spite of

How to use despite and in spite of correctly.

Prepositions - despite, in spite of

We use despite in one half of a sentence to express a contrast with the other half of the sentence.

despite something (noun)
despite + verb + -ing
despite the fact that

Despite the heavy traffic, we got there on time.
Despite being much older than the others, he won the race.

In spite of has the same meaning as despite.

in spite of something (noun)
in spite of + verb + -ing
in spite of the fact that

In spite of / despite the heavy traffic, we got there on time.
In spite of / despite the traffic being heavy, we got there on time.
In spite of / despite the fact that he is much older than the others, he won the race.
In spite of / despite being much older than the others, he won the race.

We prefer despite to in spite of in written English.

See also: Although, even though