zero-sum game
noun
: a situation in which one person or group can win something only by causing another person or group to lose it
Dividing up the budget is a zero-sum game.
Examples of zero-sum game in a Sentence
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But there is a bit of a zero-sum game in the battle between cities and their suburbs, isn‘t there?
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IEEE Spectrum, 18 May 2021
The beauty of creating a customer for life is that both sides grow together in an alliance that proves business need not be a zero-sum game.
—Wayne McCulloch, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2023
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IEEE Spectrum, 18 May 2021
The beauty of creating a customer for life is that both sides grow together in an alliance that proves business need not be a zero-sum game.
—Wayne McCulloch, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Zero-sum game.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zero-sum%20game. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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