winner

noun

ˈwi-nər How to pronounce winner (audio)
Definition of winnernext
1
as in success
a person or thing that is successful the movie was panned by the critics but has been a winner at the box office

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in victor
one that defeats an enemy or opponent the winner of any given war is usually the one who gets to write the history of that war

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in champion
the person who comes in first in a competition the other finalists graciously congratulated the winner

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of winner Among the big winners have been crude oil futures ETFs such as the United States Oil Fund (USO), Invesco DB Oil Fund (DBO), and United States Brent Oil Fund (BNO). — Hillary Jackson, CNBC, 2 Aug. 2026 The Mariners were walk-off winners on Saturday, beating the Twins 4-3 at T-Mobile Park. — Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 2 Aug. 2026 Dodgers acquire Tarik Skubal, a two-time AL Cy Young Award winner, from the Detroit Tigers for prospects Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith in a blockbuster trade. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2026 The Dodgers are expected to be high-end buyers with two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal in their sights. — Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 2 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for winner
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winner
  1. success
  2. victor
  3. champion
  4. hit
  5. conqueror
  6. champ
  7. blockbuster
  8. finalist
Noun
  • Miramax's explosive success with Pulp Fiction ignited an indie boom, rewrote Oscar campaigns, and blurred the line between independent cinema and the Hollywood mainstream.
    — Big Think, Big Think, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige reacted to the sequel’s box-office success in a new interview with Variety.
    — Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of success
Noun
  • He was beaten rather handily by Napoleon Solo, the victor, and Iron Honor, in place, and was never a real threat to either horse.
    — Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Historically, this theory does not stand up to much scrutiny and, in fact, suggests an even more concentrated list of victors.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of victor
Noun
  • In one episode, Jordan brought her to his hometown for a family dinner, with an empty chair representing the estranged Super Bowl champion.
    — Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Aug. 2026
  • In the space of 18 months, China has gone from lagging far behind the US to hosting multiple AI models that are nipping at the heels of Silicon Valley’s champions and gaining major traction among users globally.
    — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of champion
Noun
  • Paul Sewald came in to record the final out after Kevin Ginkel allowed two hits and two walks.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Lewis extended his hit streak to a career-high 10 games, the longest such streak by a Twin is season, and has reached base safely in a career-long 16 straight.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of hit
Noun
  • One stronghold after another has fallen to the ruthless conqueror Nobunaga Oda—often celebrated as the first great unifier of Japan but here cast as a largely offscreen mega-villain.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 30 July 2026
  • Topuria, for his part, has vowed to run it back with Gaethje, praising his conqueror while promising the story between them is far from over.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
Definition of conqueror
Noun
  • Outside of winning golf’s Grand Slam, repeating as Super Bowl champs is the hardest feat in sports.
    — Darren Cooper, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Others like Washington, Iowa and Illinois frequently fly under the radar as tough places to play, and home games in Bloomington are going to reach a whole new level now that the Hoosiers are defending champs.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of champ
Noun
  • The news arrives after the recent release of the blockbuster Michael biopic, which portrayed Jackson as a father with an iron fist and hair-trigger temper who used physical punishment to push his sons to stardom.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Like a certain hero of Greek myth and big-screen blockbuster, the Etna of Yoon's title is the veteran of a catastrophic war, scarred in body and mind, dogged in pursuit of an improbable homecoming.
    — Colin Dwyer, NPR, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of blockbuster
Noun
  • There, Oldham—a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist—runs his fine jewelry label, while Paige works as a professor at Pratt and a technical director for Linked By Air, a design and technology studio in Brooklyn.
    — Christian Allaire, Vogue, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Los Angeles also gets a quality young guard in Akoa Makani, who started for a WNBA finalist at age 24 last season.
    — Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of finalist

Browse Nearby Words

winks (out)
winner
winners
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Winner.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winner. Accessed 9 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on winner

Nglish: Translation of winner for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of anecdote

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

How long is a jiffy?
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All