Advertisement
Advertisement
Pyrrhic victory
noun
- a victory or goal achieved at too great a cost.
Pyrrhic victory
noun
- a victory in which the victor's losses are as great as those of the defeated Also calledCadmean victory
Pyrrhic victory
- A victory that is accompanied by enormous losses and leaves the winners in as desperate shape as if they had lost. Pyrrhus was an ancient general who, after defeating the Romans, told those who wished to congratulate him, “One more such victory and Pyrrhus is undone.”
Discover More
Word History and Origins
Origin of Pyrrhic victory1
Discover More
Word History and Origins
Origin of Pyrrhic victory1
Discover More
Idioms and Phrases
A victory that is offset by staggering losses, as in The campaign was so divisive that even though he won the election it was a Pyrrhic victory . This expression alludes to Kind Pyrrhus of Epirus, who defeated the Romans at Asculum in b.c. 279, but lost his best officers and many of his troops. Pyrrhus then said: “Another such victory and we are lost.” In English the term was first recorded (used figuratively) in 1879.Discover More
Example Sentences
But Howard Kurtz says it could prove a pyrrhic victory that could threaten his second-term agenda.
That sounds like a setup for what is known as a pyrrhic victory.
Advertisement
Word of the Day
[in-vet-er-it ]
Meaning and examplesStart each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!
By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.
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.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse