victory
noun
a success or triumph over an enemy in battle or war.
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victory
American
[vik-tuh-ree, vik-tree]
/ ˈvɪk tə ri, ˈvɪk tri /
noun
-
victories
plural
-
a success or triumph over an enemy in battle or war.
- Antonyms:
- defeat
-
an engagement ending in such triumph.
American victories in the Pacific were won at great cost.
- Antonyms:
- defeat
-
the ultimate and decisive superiority in any battle or contest.
The new vaccine effected a victory over poliomyelitis.
- Antonyms:
- defeat
-
a success or superior position achieved against any opponent, opposition, difficulty, etc..
a moral victory.
-
(initial capital letter) the ancient Roman goddess Victoria, often represented in statues or on coins as the personification of victory.
victory
1
British
/ ˈvɪktərɪ /
noun
-
final and complete superiority in a war
-
a successful military engagement
-
a success attained in a contest or struggle or over an opponent, obstacle, or problem
-
the act of triumphing or state of having triumphed
Victory
2
British
/ ˈvɪktərɪ /
noun
-
another name (in English) for Victoria 3
-
another name (in English) for Nike
victory
Idioms
Synonym Usage
Victory, conquest, triumph refer to a successful outcome of a struggle. Victory suggests the decisive defeat of an opponent in a contest of any kind: victory in battle; a football victory. Conquest implies the taking over of control by the victor, and the obedience of the conquered: a war of conquest; the conquest of Peru. Triumph implies a particularly outstanding victory: the triumph of a righteous cause; the triumph of justice.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of victory
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English victorie, from Latin victōria, equivalent to victōr-, stem of victor victor + -ia -y 3
Explanation
A victory is a win. In sports or war, one side usually achieves victory. If you've ever won anything, you've achieved a victory: being successful in some kind of contest, sport, or battle. The winners of elections, football games, chess matches, debates, and scholarships all have won impressive victories. In war, there's victory too. People who overcome a disease such as cancer also consider that a victory. The opposite of victory is defeat.
Vocabulary lists containing victory
Vocabulary of the Summer Olympics
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This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for February 6–12, 2021
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President Obama's second inaugural address
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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.
See Examples For:
Abdul El-Sayed's victory on Tuesday night in Michigan's contentious Democratic primary race for Senate was hardly a surprise.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
But yesterday’s results, from El-Sayed’s narrow victory on down, don’t point in any single direction.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
The Rams are regarded as a favorite to play in all 21 — and to cap the season with a victory in Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
And yet the victory comes with more of a whimper, given expectations heading into the night.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
As well as being Lera’s very first nighttime combat, this was the first air victory for the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
A large number of people and floats took part in the Christopher Street Day event, which passed through the city, before moving through Tiergarten park, past the Victory Column monument, and towards the Brandenberg Gate.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
The $3-billion listing of Victory Giant, a supplier for AI chip giant Nvidia, puts it in fourth place globally for 2026.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
When mobile internet shutdowns intensified during heightened security around Russia's Victory Day celebrations in May, he said he saw people struggling to withdraw money to spend at a flower market in central Moscow.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
Victory established the nation as a global military and colonial power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
“Surely breaking a rule once in a while is tolerable, especially if you’re doing it to beef up your skills for the Republic’s sake. Victory against the Colonies. Right?”
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
The states are teaming up to try to derail Paramount’s merger, and have snared preliminary victories — prompting a concession from Paramount to put the merger on hold until after the trial.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
No voting method can always ensure that local victories produce local seats, national seat totals accurately reflect overall vote shares, and the size of parliament remains fixed.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026
He’s eighth on baseball’s all-time managerial wins list with 2,183 as the only Black manager in baseball history with 2,000 victories.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Was it mere hyperbole to compare him favourably with Tiger Woods when he was racking up the victories on tour?
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
I don’t know who said that, but with Zac Efron and President and Mrs. Obama and so many others congratulating us on our team’s Olympic victories, I’d have to say that statement was entirely true.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
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.
