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 And six minutes into Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner seemed on his way to his worst performance yet with his new club, giving up three runs on three hits. — Joaquin Ruiz, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026 But the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year winner has plenty of experience starting. — Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026 The playoffs culminate with next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta -- where the winner of that tournament among a surviving field of 30 golfers will be crowned FedEx Cup champ. — Greg Cote august 23, Miami Herald, 23 Aug. 2026 Kodak production benefits will also be provided to the winner and runner-up. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 23 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
  • And for all the Padres’ successes under private equity wizard Peter Seidler, his biggest bet went bust, the ‘23 Padres missing the playoffs despite his approving MLB’s third-highest payroll.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The victory snapped a streak that had beguiled the second-year franchise even in the midst of an unprecedented level of success for an expansion team in the WNBA.
    — Christian Babcock, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of success
Noun
  • One trophy went to the points leader and another went to the Tour Championship victor.
    — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The co-main event is a crucial lightweight title eliminator, pitting Arman Tsarukyan against Mauricio Ruffy in a five-round contest, with the victor expected to challenge champion Justin Gaethje next.
    — Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of victor
Noun
  • Fort Worth-area baseball prodigy Luke Esquivel has transferred from Grapevine to five-time state champion Southlake Carroll, his father told the Star-Telegram Wednesday.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Pacino will portray businessman Vincenzo Vaccaro, a champion of Maserati family and an early investor in the auto dynasty.
    — Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of champion
Noun
  • The house will include Osbourne’s hits plus some deep cuts, Sauls said.
    — Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2026
  • While their duets were often big radio hits, Parton’s solo singles didn’t chart as high at first.
    — Kristin M. Hall, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of hit
Noun
  • The plot of the original YouTube series began to follow the Skibidi Toilets, a conqueror race armed with futuristic weaponry and an intention to colonize the galaxy.
    — Kyle MacNeill, Rolling Stone, 6 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of conqueror
Noun
  • The 15-time majors champ pleaded not guilty to a DUI charge following his arrest.
    — Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Less than a month ago, Mark Walter was the undisputed king of Los Angeles sports as owner of the NBA’s marquee franchise Lakers and the MLB’s Dodgers, the reigning World Series champs.
    — Erik Hayden, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of champ
Noun
  • Pedro Pascal playing a concert cellist in crisis doesn’t really scream blockbuster.
    — Joe Reid, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026
  • As Anthropic targets a $2 trillion IPO that could set records—and even eclipse SpaceX—the blockbuster valuation is expected to create an unprecedented amount of wealth for the AI company’s more than 2,500 employees.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of blockbuster
Noun
  • When a finalist scores exceptionally high on technical skills but shows multiple interpersonal red flags, don’t let the technical score override your concerns.
    — Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Review, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The finalist images document the consequences of overfishing and bycatch, the impact of pollution on marine mammals and the killing of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands, a practice known as grindadráp.
    — Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 23 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 29 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
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 kith

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
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
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All