winning

1 of 2

noun

win·​ning ˈwi-niŋ 

1

: the act of one that wins : victory

2

: something won: such as

a

: a captured territory : conquest

b

: money won by success in a game or competition

—usually used in plural

winning

2 of 2

adjective

1

a

: of or relating to winning : that wins

the winning ticket

b

: successful especially in competition

a winning team

2

: tending to please or delight

a winning personality

winningly

ˈwi-niŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms of winning

Adjective

• adorable
• dear
• sweet
• loved
• beautiful
• precious

Examples of winning in a Sentence

Adjective

She scored the winning goal.

They were a winning marketing team.

Chocolate and mint is a winning combination.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Both are well in the hunt for the World Cup’s Golden Boot award, having scored crucial winning goals for their countries almost every step of the way. — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 11 July 2026

But Royals reliever Matt Strahm allowed a single to Pete Alonso and a two-run homer to Colton Cowser that stayed just fair down the right-field line for what proved to be the winning runs in the bottom of the eighth. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 11 July 2026

Adjective

If your entry isn't selected in the first week, don't worry—non-winning entries automatically roll over into the next drawing period. — Rachel Cortez, USA Today, 4 June 2026

Besides Nazir, two more winning authors have drawn allegations of using AI in their work. — Miles Klee, Wired News, 19 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing winning

• losing/winning record
• winning combination
• winning/losing streak
• winning post

Rhymes for winning

• binning
• dinning
• ginning
• grinning
• inning
• pinning
• sinning
• skinning
• spinning
• thinning
• tinning
• twinning

Kids Definition

winning

1 of 2 noun

win·​ning

ˈwin-iŋ

1

: the act of one that wins : victory

2

: something won

especially : money won in a game or contest

—usually used in plural

winning

2 of 2 adjective

1

a

: of, relating to, or used for or in the act of winning

the winning ticket

b

: successful especially in competition

a winning team

2

: tending to please or delight

a winning personality

winningly adverb