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Showing results for no-win. Search instead for no+win.
Synonyms

no-win

American  
[noh-win] / ˈnoʊˈwɪn /

adjective

Informal.

  1. denoting a condition in which one cannot benefit, succeed, or win.

    a no-win situation; a no-win war.
no-win British  

adjective

  1. offering no possibility of a favourable outcome (esp in the phrase a no-win situation )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

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

These tactics deeply annoyed Burns, and they also created a no-win situation for him.

From Slate • Sep. 5, 2025

Building a universally pleasing story around Section 31 might be the Kobayashi Maru of the Trek universe — a no-win situation.

From Salon • Jan. 24, 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

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.