Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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.
Source : WordNet®
win
n 1: a victory (as in a race or other competition); "he was happy
to get the win"
2: something won (especially money) [syn: {winnings}, {profits}]
[ant: {losings}]
[also: {won}, {winning}]
win
v 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}, {gain}] [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}, {advance}, {pull ahead}, {make headway}, {get
ahead}, {gain ground}] [ant: {fall back}]
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},
{come through}, {bring home the bacon}, {deliver the
goods}] [ant: {fail}]
[also: {won}, {winning}]
Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing
win
(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 posessed by something which wins.
"winning" is often (ab)used as an adjective.
Synonyms: {cuspy}, {elegant}. Antonym: {lose}. Compare
{lossy}, {lossless}.
[{Jargon File}]
(1996-09-08)