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
I’ve put machines, and my friends and family, in a no-win situation.
From Slate ● May 6, 2026
The end result: Renters get caught in something of a no-win situation.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2025
"It was more than being allergic - you were going into a no-win scenario," a former No 10 official recalls.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2025
It was a no-win situation for the 13 women who had passed the same testing as the men of the Mercury 7.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
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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.