zero-sum game

noun

Mathematics.

1. a game in which the sum of the winnings and losses of the various players is always zero, the losses being counted negatively.

zero-sum game

noun

1. (in game theory) a contest in which one person's loss is equal to the other person's gain

zero-sum game

1. A game in which the sum of the winnings by all the players is zero. In a zero-sum game, a gain by one player must be matched by a loss by another player. Poker is a zero-sum game if the house does not take a cut as a charge for playing.

zero-sum game

1. A game in which the winnings of some players must equal the losses of the others. Zero-sum games are mentioned in a political context when it is believed that resources are limited, and every decision will produce both winners and losers. In such situations, political decisions will be made on the basis of trade-offs between competing interests.

Word History and Origins

Origin of zero-sum game¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

“Then it will be sort of a zero-sum game in terms of accommodation,” he said.

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Not only is the party picking up votes in places where the Conservatives have never been strong performers, the race for seats is a zero-sum game.

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Under Soviet communism and under Putin, diplomacy is a zero-sum game whose only goal is to restore Russian hegemony over Eastern Europe.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Erickson: It’s hard and it’s complicated because with the innie and outie dynamic, it’s sort of a zero-sum game, where however much life one of them has, that means the other has less.

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You make it a zero-sum game, and then everybody's basically trying their hardest to figure out how to get whatever they can get for themselves.

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