Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries


win - 10 dictionary results
win
1 [win]
verb, won, win⋅ning, noun –verb (used without object)
| 1. | to finish first in a race, contest, or the like. |
| 2. | to succeed by striving or effort: He applied for a scholarship and won. |
| 3. | to gain the victory; overcome an adversary: The home team won. |
–verb (used with object)
| 4. | to succeed in reaching (a place, condition, etc.), esp. by great effort: They won the shore through a violent storm. |
| 5. | to get by effort, as through labor, competition, or conquest: He won his post after years of striving. |
| 6. | to gain (a prize, fame, etc.). |
| 7. | to be successful in (a game, battle, etc.). |
| 8. | to make (one's way), as by effort or ability. |
| 9. | to attain or reach (a point, goal, etc.). |
| 10. | to gain (favor, love, consent, etc.), as by qualities or influence. |
| 11. | to gain the favor, regard, or adherence of. |
| 12. | to gain the consent or support of; persuade (often fol. by over): The speech won them over to our side. |
| 13. | to persuade to marry; gain in marriage. |
| 14. | British Mining.
|
–noun
—Verb phrase| 15. | a victory, as in a game or horse race. |
| 16. | the position of the competitor who comes in first in a horse race, harness race, etc. Compare place (def. 27b), show (def. 27). |
| 17. | win out, to win or succeed, esp. over great odds; triumph: His finer nature finally won out. |
Origin:
bef. 900; ME winnen (v.), OE winnan to work, fight, bear; c. G gewinnen, ON vinna, Goth winnan
bef. 900; ME winnen (v.), OE winnan to work, fight, bear; c. G gewinnen, ON vinna, Goth winnan

Related forms:
win⋅na⋅ble, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
|
Link To win
win (wĭn) v. won (wŭn), win·ning, wins v. intr.
win outTo succeed or prevail. win throughTo overcome difficulties and attain a desired goal or end. Idiom(s): win the dayTo be successful. [Middle English winnen, from Old English winnan, to fight, strive; see wen-1 in Indo-European roots.] win'less adj., win'na·ble adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Win
Win\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Won, Obs. Wan; p. pr. & vb. n. Winning.] [OE. winnen, AS. winnan to strive, labor, fight, endure; akin to OFries. winna, OS. winnan, D. winnen to win, gain, G. gewinnen, OHG. winnan to strive, struggle, Icel. vinna to labor, suffer, win, Dan. vinde to win, Sw. vinna, Goth. winnan to suffer, Skr. van to wish, get, gain, conquer. [root]138. Cf. Venerate, Winsome, Wish, Wont, a.]1. To gain by superiority in competition or contest; to obtain by victory over competitors or rivals; as, to win the prize in a gate; to win money; to win a battle, or to win a country. "This city for to win." --Chaucer. "Who thus shall Canaan win." --Milton. Thy well-breathed horse Impels the flying car, and wins the course. --Dryden. 2. To allure to kindness; to bring to compliance; to gain or obtain, as by solicitation or courtship. Thy virtue wan me; with virtue preserve me. --Sir P. Sidney. She is a woman; therefore to be won. --Shak. 3. To gain over to one's side or party; to obtain the favor, friendship, or support of; to render friendly or approving; as, to win an enemy; to win a jury. 4. To come to by toil or effort; to reach; to overtake. [Archaic] Even in the porch he him did win. --Spenser. And when the stony path began, By which the naked peak they wan, Up flew the snowy ptarmigan. --Sir W. Scott. 5. (Mining) To extract, as ore or coal. --Raymond. Syn: To gain; get; procure; earn. See Gain.Win
Win\, v. i. To gain the victory; to be successful; to triumph; to prevail. Nor is it aught but just That he, who in debate of truth hath won, should win in arms. --Milton. To win of, to be conqueror over. [Obs.] --Shak. To win on or upon. (a) To gain favor or influence with. "You have a softness and beneficence winning on the hearts of others." --Dryden. (b) To gain ground on. "The rabble . . . will in time win upon power." --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
win
[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'.
Jargon File 4.2.0
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
win (v.)
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
win jargon
(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)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
win
In addition to the idioms beginning with win, also see (win) hands down; nowin situation; slow but sure (steady wins the race); you can't win; you can't win 'em all.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
WIN
|
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
PublishersClearingHouse
Get Really Rich Really Fast By Entering Our Sweeps, As Seen On TV!
www.pch.com
Get Really Rich Really Fast By Entering Our Sweeps, As Seen On TV!
www.pch.com
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.