win

win1 [ wın ] (past tense and past participle won [ wʌn ] ) verb ***

1. ) intransitive or transitive to defeat everyone else by being the best or by finishing first in a competition:

I play tennis against her every week, but she always wins.

Who won the race?

The 1970 elections were won by a coalition led by Allende.

The Ravens won by a field goal in the last minute of the game.

a ) to achieve victory in a war, battle, or argument:

No matter who wins the war, there will be heavy casualties on both sides.

Why is it that whenever we argue, you always win?

2. ) transitive to get something as a prize for defeating other people or because you are lucky:

Our skiing team won a gold medal at the Olympics.

Raoul thinks he can win first prize in the spelling contest.

He won $4,000 in the lottery last week.

3. ) transitive to succeed in getting something you want because of hard work or ability:

We've won a $3 million contract to build the new bridge.

The city has won the right to host the Games.

win support/approval: The bill is winning a lot of support from farmers.

win someone's love/heart: He was never able to win her love.

a ) to be the most important reason why someone succeeds or achieves something:

His athletic ability won him a scholarship to a good college.

win by a nose INFORMAL

to win by a very slight amount

win the day

to win in the end, often after being nearly defeated:

It was a tough fight, but we won the day and got our raise.

win hands down

to win by a large amount or very easily

win or lose

whether you succeed or fail:

Win or lose, you must be proud that you got this far.

you can't win SPOKEN

used for saying that no matter what you do, you will not succeed:

Whatever I do, she isn't happy; you just can't win.

you can't win them all/(you) win some, (you) lose some

used for showing sympathy to someone who has not been successful or for showing that you accept that you have not been successful:

I thought we'd get the extra business, but I guess you can't win them all.

you win SPOKEN

used for admitting that you have been defeated by someone or for agreeing to something:

Okay, you win, we'll go and see the kung fu movie.

,win `back phrasal verb transitive

to get back something that you have lost:

We hope to win back the trophy we lost last year.

I would do anything to win back your trust in me.

,win `out phrasal verb intransitive

to succeed after great difficulty:

It was a struggle, but truth won out in the end.

,win `over or ,win `round phrasal verb transitive

to persuade someone to agree with you or to be friendly to you:

We've finally won him over to our point of view.

win

win 2 [ wın ] noun count **

an instance of winning, especially in sports:

This is their fourth win of the season.

convincing/easy/good win: It was a convincing win for the Democrats.