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win
1[ win ]
verb (used without object)
- to finish first in a race, contest, or the like:
My story won in the short fiction category.
- to gain the victory; overcome an adversary:
The home team won.
- to succeed by striving or effort:
He applied for a scholarship and won.
- Slang. to be successful or competent and be acknowledged for it: Compare fail ( def 9 ).
My sister wins at finding the best bargains.
verb (used with object)
- to gain (a prize, fame, etc.):
She won a million dollars in the lottery.
- to be victorious or successful in (a game, race, battle, etc.):
The Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series two years in a row.
- to obtain or earn (a point or goal); score:
You win 10 bonus points if you play all your cards in the same turn.
Our team won two goals in the first five minutes!
- to get by effort, as through labor, competition, or conquest:
He won his post after years of striving.
Synonyms: reach, procure, gain, achieve, acquire, secure, obtain, overcome, triumph, prevail, conquer
- to gain (favor, love, consent, etc.), as by qualities or influence:
You will win the kids’ respect if you take them seriously.
- to gain the favor, regard, or adherence of:
The candidate won younger voters with his proposal on tuition aid.
- to gain the consent or support of; persuade (often followed by over ):
The speech won them over to our side.
Synonyms: sway, influence, induce, convince, bring around
- to succeed in reaching (a place, condition, etc.), especially by great effort:
They won the shore through a violent storm.
- to persuade to marry; gain in marriage.
- British Mining.
- to obtain (ore, coal, etc.).
- to prepare (a vein, bed, mine, etc.) for working, by means of shafts or the like.
noun
- a victory, as in a game or horse race:
The Flames have had only two wins in the whole season.
- the position of the competitor who comes in first in a horse race, harness race, etc. Compare place ( def 27b ), show ( def 27 ).
- Slang.
- a success, or something good: Compare fail ( def 14a ).
She was having a bad week, so she really needed a win.
- the state or quality of being successful or good: Compare fail ( def 14b ).
There was so much win in last night’s episode!
adjective
- Slang.
- successful or competent: Compare fail ( def 19b ).
She got accepted for publication on her first try—I call that a win person!
- very good or of high quality; awesome: Compare fail ( def 19c ).
To hear him play, now that was win!
Those movers we hired did such a win job with our stuff.
interjection
- Slang. (used to acknowledge success, competence, etc.):
I just got tickets to the concert. Win!
verb phrase
- to win or succeed, especially over great odds; triumph:
His better nature finally won out.
win
2[ win ]
verb (used with object)
- to dry (hay, wood, etc.) by exposure to air and sun.
win
1/ wɪn /
verb
- intr to achieve first place in a competition
- tr to gain or receive (a prize, first place, etc) in a competition
- tr to succeed in or gain (something) with an effort
we won recognition
- win one's spurs
- to achieve recognition in some field of endeavour
- history to be knighted
- to gain victory or triumph in (a battle, argument, etc)
- tr to earn or procure (a living, etc) by work
- tr to take possession of, esp violently; capture
the Germans never won Leningrad
- whenintr, foll by out, through, etc to reach with difficulty (a desired condition or position) or become free, loose, etc, with effort
the boat won through to the shore
the boat won the shore
- tr to turn someone into (a supporter, enemy, etc)
you have just won an ally
- tr to gain (the sympathy, loyalty, etc) of someone
- tr to obtain (a woman, etc) in marriage
- tr
- to extract (ore, coal, etc) from a mine
- to extract (metal or other minerals) from ore
- to discover and make (a mineral deposit) accessible for mining
- you can't win informal.an expression of resignation after an unsuccessful attempt to overcome difficulties
noun
- informal.a success, victory, or triumph
- profit; winnings
- the act or fact of reaching the finishing line or post first
win
2/ wɪn /
verb
- to dry (grain, hay, peat, etc) by exposure to sun and air
- a less common word for winnow
Derived Forms
- ˈwinnable, adjective
Other Words From
- win·na·ble adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of win1
Word History and Origins
Origin of win1
Origin of win2
Idioms and Phrases
- for the win, Slang. (used to express enthusiasm for someone or something that is very good, likely to succeed, etc.):
A plant-based diet, for the win!
- win one's way, to advance or succeed, as by ability or effort:
The battalion won its way at great cost.
Your original ideas have won their way in a field where it is difficult to say anything new.
- win the internet. internet ( def 3 ).
More idioms and phrases containing win
- (win) hands down
- no-win situation
- slow but sure (steady wins the race)
- you can't win
- you can't win 'em all
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Dragić and Herro kept them in it early, Jae Crowder just kept making threes, and then Jimmy Butler’s scoring and Bam’s block won it late.
In other words, the Republican Party won on the atrocious Ballot Harvesting Scam.
While Maddux won his fourth consecutive — and final — Cy Young Award in his age-29 season in 1995, Johnson won four straight Cy Young Awards from his age 35 to age 38 seasons.
In 2018, Maduro won a second term as president of Venezuela.
The survey shows Graham and Harrison each winning the backing of 48 percent of likely voters in the state.
Except the Braves did not win 14 straight pennants (they did win 14 straight division titles), and Smoltz is a also Republican.
Her Miss America win transcended mere superficial beauty standards.
A Republican candidate hoping to win red state support could find a worse team to root for than one from Dallas.
If history is a guide, Huckabee will need to resonate with more than just the faithful if he is to win.
She fails to appreciate the congressional and constitutional obstacles Johnson had to overcome to win passage of the bill.
Bessires was included because he would never win it at any later date, but his doglike devotion made him a priceless subordinate.
The real experience has a magnetism of its own and will win above mere technicality whenever it has the opportunity.
Great preparations had been made, and the success must have been perfect to win so general and hearty a commendation.
All the miserable stratagems they had been guilty of to win him; the dishonest plotting and planning.
They take him along whenever they play games, thinking the mascot helps them to win.
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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.
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