win

verb

\ ˈwin

won\ ˈwən

\; winning

Definition of win

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to get possession of by effort or fortune

b : to obtain by work : earn striving to win a living from the sterile soil

2a : to gain in or as if in battle or contest won the championship

b : to be the victor in won the war

3a : to make friendly or favorable to oneself or to one's cause —often used with over won him over with persuasive arguments

b : to induce to accept oneself in marriage was unable to win the woman he loved

4a : to obtain (something, such as ore, coal, or clay) by mining

b : to prepare (a vein or bed) for regular mining

c : to recover (metal) from ore

5 : to reach by expenditure of effort

intransitive verb

1 : to gain the victory in a contest : succeed

2 : to succeed in arriving at a place or a state

win

noun

Definition of win (Entry 2 of 2)

: victory especially : first place at the finish (as of a horse race)

Other Words from win Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about win

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Synonyms & Antonyms for win

Synonyms: Verb

conquer, prevail, triumph

Synonyms: Noun

palm, triumph, victory

Antonyms: Verb

lose

Antonyms: Noun

beating, defeat, drubbing, licking, loss, overthrow, rout, shellacking, trimming, whipping

Examples of win in a Sentence

Verb

The boxer won the match by knockout. He won't give up until he's won the argument. Neither candidate won the debate. We tried our best, but you can't win them all. They played well, but they didn't win. The chances of winning are 1 in 100,000. It's not about winning or losing. It's about having fun. She won a tennis trophy. Her book won the Pulitzer Prize. She won praise for her hard work.

Noun

a pitcher with 15 wins Their win over the first place team was unexpected.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Jason's competitive spirit paid off, earning him the winning spot for this week's episode. — Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, "Best Room Wins Episode Two Steps Up to the Challenge of Contemporary," 9 May 2019 Starr, an award-winning restaurateur, offered a level of funding and operational savvy that McNally, who suffered a stroke in 2017, felt could revive a restaurant... — Howie Kahn, WSJ, "Pastis Returns! The Buzziest Moments in Its History," 1 May 2019 Clinique's Moisture Surge range (which includes a CC cream, a thirst-quenching gel, the Best of Beauty Award-winning hydrator, and the original moisturizer), is not-so-secretly one of our first-line defenses against dry skin in need of serious R&R. — Karina Hoshikawa, Allure, "Clinique Launches Moisture Surge Eye 96-Hour Hydro-Filler Concentrate to Hydrate Under-Eyes," 1 May 2019 Grammy Award-winning Childish Gambino isn’t done collaborating with Google. — Michael Simon, PCWorld, "Childish Gambino’s Pharos AR app unlocks a hidden universe of battery-draining beats and beasts," 24 Apr. 2019 The show first debuted in 1943, and was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film in 1955. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "A TV Adaptation of the Oklahoma! Musical Is in the Works," 17 Apr. 2019 The Academy Award-winning actress has lived many lives, but in all of them, her beauty journey has evolved to become the Reese Witherspoon who gave Allure's beauty director this 15-minute beauty interview, which begins here. — Allure, "Reese Witherspoon Explains Why She’s Proud of Her Gray Hair and Fine Lines," 18 Apr. 2019 Room This award-winning movie is based on a novel of the same name. — Seventeen, "20 Mother's Day Movies to Watch With Your Mom," 11 Apr. 2019 Glenn Close tackles similar territory in The Wife, playing a woman who essentially wrote her husband's Nobel Prize-winning novel. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "Fosse/Verdon Proves It's Time to Cancel the Fragile Male Ego," 10 Apr. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

In a win for cars in their ongoing, losing struggle for relevance against crossovers and SUVs, sedans increase your messaging chances by 42 percent. — Alexander Stoklosa, Car and Driver, "Put a Jeep in Your Online Dating Profile Now—You'll Get More Messages," 16 May 2019 Ink, a new play by writer James Graham, opened recently at Broadway’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre after a lauded London run that earned four Olivier nominations as well as one win for actor Bertie Carvel for his performance as Murdoch. — Adam Rathe, Town & Country, "Rupert Murdoch Takes the Broadway Stage in Ink," 30 Apr. 2019 According to Associated Press reporter Andrew Dalton, Spike Lee also had a visceral reaction to the movie's win. — Emma Dibdin, Harper's BAZAAR, "Green Book Won Best Picture and Twitter Is Not Happy," 25 Feb. 2019 Titanic, Ben-Hur, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King are all tied for the most Oscars with 11 wins for each. — Megan Stein, Country Living, "So, Who Has Won the Most Oscars Ever?," 24 Feb. 2019 In fact, Kelly scored two goals in the 11-10 win over Cornell. — Craig Clary, baltimoresun.com, "Dulaney High's Maggie Kelly is Towson Times Female Athlete of the Year," 13 July 2018 Shaqiri may be a valuable player in the absence of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is sidelined until November at the earliest, having suffered a knee injury in Liverpool's Champions League win over Roma in April. — SI.com, "Xherdan Shaqiri Set for Liverpool Medical as Reds Close in on Third Summer Signing," 13 July 2018 To settle the debate, the authors compiled data going back 38 years that included wins and losses for each team. — Steve Rosenbush, WSJ, "What Your CEO Is Reading: Who Is the True Leader of the NFL Franchise?," 26 Apr. 2019 But the singer made headlines for more than just his big win that night. — Kelly O'sullivan, Country Living, "Jason Aldean's Wife Brittany Kerr Says It's Been 'Difficult' to Get Fit After Second Baby," 7 Apr. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'win.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for win

Verb

Middle English winnen "to strive, struggle, obtain by exertion, earn with labor, gain, triumph," going back to Old English winnan "to labor, strive," going back to a Germanic verb base *wenu̯- (whence Old Saxon winnan "to struggle, suffer, acquire," Old High German, "to labor, struggle, rage," Old Norse vinna "to labor, suffer, gain," Gothic winnan "to suffer"); akin to Sanskrit vanoti "(s/he) demands, strives for, obtains," vanate "(s/he) shall obtain," Avestan vanaiti "(s/he) defeats"

Note: According to Rix, et al., Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben (Wiesbaden, 1998), Indo-European *u̯en-, the source of these verbs is distinct from *u̯enH-, the source of Sanskrit vanate "(s/he) likes, takes pleasure in," Latin venus "physical desire, qualities exciting desire, charm" (see venus).

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