Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for no-win. Search instead for no+win.
Synonyms

no-win

American  
[noh-win] / ˈnoʊˈwɪn /

adjective

Informal.

  1. denoting a condition in which one cannot benefit, succeed, or win.

    a no-win situation; a no-win war.
no-win British  

adjective

  1. offering no possibility of a favourable outcome (esp in the phrase a no-win situation )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of no-win

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The end result: Renters get caught in something of a no-win situation.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 4, 2025

"It was more than being allergic - you were going into a no-win scenario," a former No 10 official recalls.

From BBC • Nov. 1, 2025

“However, to achieve that goal, we must have both the authority and support to remove barriers that hinder progress rather than perpetuate no-win situations.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 10, 2025

These tactics deeply annoyed Burns, and they also created a no-win situation for him.

From Slate • Sep. 5, 2025

Jack Neylan was concerned that the demands of Washington service would expose Berkeley’s faculty star to the no-win politics of the nation’s capital.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.