fusion of O.E. winnan "struggle for, work at, strive, fight," and gewinnan "to gain or succeed by struggling, to win," both from P.Gmc. *wenwanan (cf. O.S. winnan, O.N. vinna, O.Fris. winna, Du. winnen "to gain, win," Dan. vinde "to win," O.H.G. winnan "to strive, struggle, fight," Ger. gewinnen "to gain, win," Goth. gawinnen "to suffer, toil"). Perhaps related to wish, or from PIE *van- "overcome, conquer." Sense of "to be victorious" is recorded from c.1300. The noun in O.E. meant "labor, strife, conflict;" modern sense of "a victory in a game or contest" is first attested 1862, from the verb. Breadwinner (see bread) preserves the sense of "toil" in O.E. winnan. Phrase you can't win them all (1954) first attested in Raymond Chandler.
a victory (as in a race or other competition); "he was happy to get the win"
2.
something won (especially money) [syn: winnings] [ant: losings]
verb
1.
be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious; "He won the Gold Medal in skating"; "Our home team won"; "Win the game" [ant: lose]
2.
win something through one's efforts; "I acquired a passing knowledge of Chinese"; "Gain an understanding of international finance" [syn: acquire] [ant: lose]
3.
obtain advantages, such as points, etc.; "The home team was gaining ground"; "After defeating the Knicks, the Blazers pulled ahead of the Lakers in the battle for the number-one playoff berth in the Western Conference" [syn: gain] [ant: drop off]
4.
attain success or reach a desired goal; "The enterprise succeeded"; "We succeeded in getting tickets to the show"; "she struggled to overcome her handicap and won" [syn: succeed] [ant: fail]
to obtain (a victory) in a contest; to succeed in coming first in (a contest), usually by one's own efforts Example: He won a fine victory in the election; Who won the war/match?; He won the bet; He won (the race) in a fast time / by a clear five metres.
Arabic:
يَرْبَح، يَفوز، يَكْسَب، يَنْتَصِر
Chinese (Simplified):
获胜
Chinese (Traditional):
獲勝
Czech:
dosáhnout; vyhrát
Danish:
vinde
Dutch:
winnen, zegevieren
Estonian:
võitma
Finnish:
voittaa
French:
gagner
German:
gewinnen
Greek:
κερδίζω
Hungarian:
(meg)nyer
Icelandic:
sigra (í), vinna
Indonesian:
menang
Italian:
vincere
Japanese:
勝つ
Korean:
(승리를) 얻다; …에 이기다
Latvian:
uzvarēt; laimēt
Lithuanian:
laimėti
Norwegian:
vinne, seire
Polish:
zwyciężyć, wygrać
Portuguese (Brazil):
ganhar
Portuguese (Portugal):
ganhar
Romanian:
a câştiga
Russian:
выигрывать
Slovak:
dosiahnuť; vyhrať
Slovenian:
zmagati
Spanish:
ganar
Swedish:
vinna
Turkish:
kazanmak
win2[win]verb
to obtain (a prize) in a competition etc, usually by luck Example: to win first prize; I won $5 in the crossword competition.
Arabic:
يَكْسَب، يَفوز
Chinese (Simplified):
获奖
Chinese (Traditional):
獲獎
Czech:
získat, vyhrát
Danish:
vinde
Dutch:
winnen, behalen
Estonian:
võitma
Finnish:
voittaa
French:
gagner
German:
gewinnen
Greek:
κερδίζω
Hungarian:
elnyer
Icelandic:
vinna (til)
Indonesian:
memenangkan
Italian:
vincere
Japanese:
得る
Korean:
(상을) 타다
Latvian:
laimēt
Lithuanian:
laimėti
Norwegian:
vinne
Polish:
wygrać
Portuguese (Brazil):
ganhar
Portuguese (Portugal):
ganhar
Romanian:
a câştiga
Russian:
получать (приз)
Slovak:
vyhrať
Slovenian:
dobiti
Spanish:
ganar
Swedish:
vinna
Turkish:
kazanmak
win3[win]verb
to obtain by one's own efforts Example: He won her respect over a number of years.
Arabic:
يَكْتَسِب، يَحْصَل على، يُحَقِّق
Chinese (Simplified):
博得
Chinese (Traditional):
博得
Czech:
získat
Danish:
vinde
Dutch:
verwerven
Estonian:
saavutama
Finnish:
saada osakseen
French:
gagner
German:
gewinnen
Greek:
κερδίζω
Hungarian:
szerez
Icelandic:
ávinna sér, vinna til
Indonesian:
merebut
Italian:
ottenere
Japanese:
勝ち取る
Korean:
(노력의 대가로) 받다, 얻다
Latvian:
izpelnīties; izcīnīt; iekarot
Lithuanian:
nusipelnyti
Norwegian:
vinne, oppnå
Polish:
zdobyć
Portuguese (Brazil):
ganhar
Portuguese (Portugal):
meta
Romanian:
a câştiga
Russian:
заслужить
Slovak:
získať
Slovenian:
pridobiti
Spanish:
ganar(se)
Swedish:
vinna
Turkish:
kazanmak
win[win]noun
a victory or success Example: She's had two wins in four races.
winjargon (Said of people, computers, algorithms, programs) (To be) a success at a given task. E.g. "WYSIWYG is a clear win for small documents". "winnitude" is the quality that something which wins has. "winning" is often (ab)used as an adjective. Synonyms: cuspy, elegant. Antonym: lose. Compare lossy, lossless. [The Jargon File] (1996-09-08)
[MIT; now common everywhere] 1. vi. To succeed. A program wins if no unexpected conditions arise, or (especially) if it sufficiently robust to take exceptions in stride. 2. n. Success, or a specific instance thereof. A pleasing outcome. "So it turned out I could use a lexer generator instead of hand-coding my own pattern recognizer. What a win!" Emphatic forms: `moby win', `super win', `hyper-win' (often used interjectively as a reply). For some reason `suitable win' is also common at MIT, usually in reference to a satisfactory solution to a problem. Oppose lose; see also big win, which isn't quite just an intensification of `win'.
Gain\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gained (g[=a]nd); p. pr. & vb. n. Gaining.] [From gain, n. but. prob. influenced by F. gagner to earn, gain, OF. gaaignier to cultivate, OHG. weidin[=o]n, weidinen to pasture, hunt, fr. weida pasturage, G. weide, akin to Icel. vei[eth]r hunting, AS. w[=a][eth]u, cf. L. venari to hunt, E. venison. See Gain, n., profit.]1. To get, as profit or advantage; to obtain or acquire by effort or labor; as, to gain a good living. What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? --Matt. xvi. 26. To gain dominion, or to keep it gained. --Milton. For fame with toil we gain, but lose with ease. --Pope. 2. To come off winner or victor in; to be successful in; to obtain by competition; as, to gain a battle; to gain a case at law; to gain a prize. 3. To draw into any interest or party; to win to one's side; to conciliate. If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. --Matt. xviii. 15. To gratify the queen, and gained the court. --Dryden. 4. To reach; to attain to; to arrive at; as, to gain the top of a mountain; to gain a good harbor. Forded Usk and gained the wood. --Tennyson. 5. To get, incur, or receive, as loss, harm, or damage. [Obs. or Ironical] Ye should . . . not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. --Acts xxvii. 21. Gained day, the calendar day gained in sailing eastward around the earth. To gain ground, to make progress; to advance in any undertaking; to prevail; to acquire strength or extent. To gain over, to draw to one's party or interest; to win over. To gain the wind (Naut.), to reach the windward side of another ship. Syn: To obtain; acquire; get; procure; win; earn; attain; achieve. Usage: See Obtain. -- To Gain, Win. Gain implies only that we get something by exertion; win, that we do it in competition with others. A person gains knowledge, or gains a prize, simply by striving for it; he wins a victory, or wins a prize, by taking it in a struggle with others.
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Audio Help [win] Pronunciation Key verb, won, win·ning, noun 
