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

That’s when the Islanders acquired Butch Goring from Los Angeles to spark what became New York’s run of winning four consecutive championships. — John Wawrow, The Seattle Times, "Players brace for moves as NHL trade deadline approaches," 20 Feb. 2019 Fans will find out if Susan won AGT: The Champions on next week's finale show. — Heather Finn, Good Housekeeping, "Simon Cowell Admits to His "Disgusting" Past After Susan Boyle's 'AGT' Performance," 12 Feb. 2019 The idea of winning the bookcases, that’s an amazing thing. — Joanna Saltz, House Beautiful, "Five Designers on How to Make Old Things New Again," 8 Feb. 2019 Have dreams of winning a Grammy and taking the political world by storm? — Megan Stein, Country Living, "10 Totally Weird Things About 'The Voice' Auditions That No One Ever Talks About," 19 Jan. 2019 Two weeks before election night, on New Year’s Eve, Randall vows to be more present, and admits that his chances of winning are low. — Candice Frederick, Harper's BAZAAR, "This is Us Season 3 Episode 10: Randall Wins the Race as He and Beth Reach an Impasse," 16 Jan. 2019 With all the controversy and fanfare, the biggest surprise isn't that casinos won the day, or that MGM settled on a swath of land smack in the middle of Springfield’s downtown. — Andrea Bennett, Condé Nast Traveler, "Will New Casinos Bring a "MassVegas" to New England?," 17 Dec. 2018 And the race was not close: Polis, who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2009, won his election by more than 10 percentage points. — Seamus Kirst, Teen Vogue, "Jared Polis, the First Openly Gay Governor in U.S. History, Wants Other LGBTQ People to Run for Office," 30 Nov. 2018 The Super Bowl Predictor—popularized by market analyst Robert H. Stovall—foretells the stock market for the full year based on who wins the big game in February. — William Power, WSJ, "Fans of the Super Bowl-Based Market Predictor Are Betting on the Rams," 1 Feb. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Spike Lee, who won his first Oscar this evening in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for BlacKkKlansman, was reportedly less than thrilled by the film's win, and made his feelings clear both in the auditorium and in the press room backstage. — Emma Dibdin, Harper's BAZAAR, "Spike Lee Is Not Happy About Green Book Winning Best Picture," 25 Feb. 2019 Yet these are radical ideas unlikely to help the party win in 2020. — Fred Barnes, WSJ, "The Downside of Anti-Trump Rage," 22 Jan. 2019 Animal advocates also saw some major wins in the private sector. — Kelsey Piper, Vox, "2018’s big wins — and big losses — for animals," 24 Dec. 2018 Style-wise, the legendary Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder's effortless off-duty fit has been a win since the start of his professional career. — Nicole Saunders, Harper's BAZAAR, "Victoria and David Beckham Look Uber Stylish For a Double Date with son Brooklyn Beckham in New York," 25 Jan. 2019 The country superstar has a love story that sounds like a fairytale, nearly a dozen awards for her music, and two back-to-back wins on The Voice. — Kelly O'sullivan, Country Living, "Kelly Clarkson Admits It's 'Hard' to Juggle Her Tour and Kids: ‘I’m Not an Absentee Mom’," 20 Jan. 2019 Camila's high-fashion fit might look a little intimidating, but the message is one to remember: boyfriend jeans and camel pleather are a total win. — Kelsey Stiegman, Seventeen, "10 Instagram-Worthy Ways to Wear Boyfriend Jeans," 8 Jan. 2019 This is a big win for the Japanese firm, as Inmarsat could have picked almost any number of competitors. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "Entering a crowded market, Japan’s new rocket scores an early win," 21 Dec. 2018 But think about how risky that was, Tucker, because President Trump was not a sure win. — Fox News, "New developments in Tucker's Google investigation; Dean Cain on Hollywood rallying behind Kavanaugh's accuser," 22 Sep. 2018

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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