winner

[win-er]

noun

1. a person or thing that wins; victor.

   All three winners received plaques for their winning presentations.

   A yearling Teeswater sheep took the limelight yesterday when it was crowned the overall winner of the interbreed Wool on the Hoof competition.

2. a person or thing that is marked by consistently or thoroughly excellent quality, performance, etc. (loser ).

   This brownie recipe is a real winner—I’ve made it countless times and it always turns out beautifully.

winner

/ ˈwɪnə /

noun

1. a person or thing that wins

2. informal,  a person or thing that seems sure to win or succeed

Other Word Forms

• nonwinner noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of winner¹

A Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; win ¹, -er ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. winner take(s) all. winner take all

Example Sentences

Newcastle United striker Nick Woltemade scored the winner in the first half with his first goal for Germany.

Read more on BBC

All three winners recognized that because economic growth is crucial, we need to understand how we got it and how we can keep it.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Currently, applicants for the H-1B visa must pay a small fee to enter into the lottery system, and the winners of that lottery pay a larger fee to submit their full applications for vetting.

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Allen’s first impression of the eventual Oscar winner was, he explained, as “if Huckleberry Finn was a gorgeous young woman.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

However, the inclusion of jury votes led to Austria being declared the overall winner.

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Related Words

• champ 
• champion 
• first 
• hero 
• medalist 
• number one