you can't win

Idioms

Also, you just can't win. Whatever one does is wrong or not enough, as in Every time I block one of the woodchuck's holes, I find another; you just can't win. [First half of 1900s] For a synonym, see damned if I do, damned if I don't.

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:

you can't win

“If you know about open source, you’d know that you can’t win by exclusion.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

“If you can’t win in your home, you can’t win here.”

From Salon ● Dec. 29, 2023

“Guess you can’t win them all,” he half-joked in his acceptance speech while celebrating his fellow Heisman finalists C.J.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2023

"They should and they will and they'll give it a good effort but sometimes subconsciously you just drop off because you can't win the series."

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2023

“For the most part. My roommate’s kind of an asshole, but you can’t win ’em all, I guess.”

From "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023