victory

[vik-tuh-ree, vik-tree]

noun

plural

victories 

1. a success or triumph over an enemy in battle or war.

   Antonyms: defeat

2. an engagement ending in such triumph.

   American victories in the Pacific were won at great cost.

   Antonyms: defeat

3. the ultimate and decisive superiority in any battle or contest.

   The new vaccine effected a victory over poliomyelitis.

   Antonyms: defeat

4. a success or superior position achieved against any opponent, opposition, difficulty, etc..

   a moral victory.

5. (initial capital letter),  the ancient Roman goddess Victoria, often represented in statues or on coins as the personification of victory.

victory

¹

/ ˈvɪktərɪ /

noun

1. final and complete superiority in a war

2. a successful military engagement

3. a success attained in a contest or struggle or over an opponent, obstacle, or problem

4. the act of triumphing or state of having triumphed

Victory

²

/ ˈvɪktərɪ /

noun

1. another name (in English) for Victoria 3

2. another name (in English) for Nike

Other Word Forms

• victoryless adjective
• nonvictory noun
• supervictory noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of victory¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English victorie, from Latin victōria, equivalent to victōr-, stem of victor victor + -ia -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of victory¹

C14: from Old French victorie, from Latin victōria, from vincere to subdue

Idioms and Phrases

see pyrrhic victory.

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

The Grammy-winning rapper, in the midst of promoting her sophomore album, “Am I the Drama?,” and after securing a victory over a litigious security guard, is pregnant with her fourth child.

From Los Angeles Times

The loss reopens old criticism about the legitimacy of Álvarez’s victories and quality of his opponents.

From Los Angeles Times

Even after Hume took the wickets of Sam Curran and Salt in the 15th over, England always looked on course for victory with Jamie Overton ultimately providing the winning runs with 20 deliveries to spare.

From BBC

Raducanu then broke in the ninth game to serve for the match and, despite facing a break point, secured a hard-fought victory in two hours and two minutes.

From BBC

The winner of The Great British Sewing Bee has said she was "totally overwhelmed" after her victory on the BBC One show.

From BBC

Related Words

• achievement 
• advantage 
• defeat 
• gain 
• grand slam 
• hit 
• sweep 
• triumph 
• winning