no-win
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of no-win
First recorded in 1960–65
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For fans like Hawk, duking it out for tickets on the open market against New York’s 1% was simply a no-win proposition.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
Legal firm Leigh Day are bringing the case on a no-win no-fee basis.
From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026
The end result: Renters get caught in something of a no-win situation.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 4, 2025
“However, to achieve that goal, we must have both the authority and support to remove barriers that hinder progress rather than perpetuate no-win situations.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 10, 2025
Jack Neylan was concerned that the demands of Washington service would expose Berkeley’s faculty star to the no-win politics of the nation’s capital.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
