win
    n 1: a victory (as in a race or other competition); "he was
         happy to get the win"
    2: something won (especially money) [syn: winnings, win,
       profits] [ant: losings, losses]
    v 1: be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious;
         "He won the Gold Medal in skating"; "Our home team won";
         "Win the game" [ant: lose]
    2: win something through one's efforts; "I acquired a passing
       knowledge of Chinese"; "Gain an understanding of
       international finance" [syn: acquire, win, gain] [ant:
       lose]
    3: obtain advantages, such as points, etc.; "The home team was
       gaining ground"; "After defeating the Knicks, the Blazers
       pulled ahead of the Lakers in the battle for the number-one
       playoff berth in the Western Conference" [syn: gain,
       advance, win, pull ahead, make headway, get ahead,
       gain ground] [ant: drop off, fall back, fall behind,
       lose, recede]
    4: attain success or reach a desired goal; "The enterprise
       succeeded"; "We succeeded in getting tickets to the show";
       "she struggled to overcome her handicap and won" [syn:
       succeed, win, come through, bring home the bacon,
       deliver the goods] [ant: fail, go wrong, miscarry]

Win \Win\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Won, Obs. Wan; p. pr. & vb.
   n. Winning.] [OE. winnen, AS. winnan to strive, labor,
   fight, endure; akin to OFries. winna, OS. winnan, D. winnen
   to win, gain, G. gewinnen, OHG. winnan to strive, struggle,
   Icel. vinna to labor, suffer, win, Dan. vinde to win, Sw.
   vinna, Goth. winnan to suffer, Skr. van to wish, get, gain,
   conquer. [root]138. Cf. Venerate, Winsome, Wish,
   Wont, a.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. To gain by superiority in competition or contest; to
      obtain by victory over competitors or rivals; as, to win
      the prize in a gate; to win money; to win a battle, or to
      win a country. "This city for to win." --Chaucer. "Who
      thus shall Canaan win." --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

            Thy well-breathed horse
            Impels the flying car, and wins the course.
                                                  --Dryden.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To allure to kindness; to bring to compliance; to gain or
      obtain, as by solicitation or courtship.
      [1913 Webster]

            Thy virtue wan me; with virtue preserve me. --Sir P.
                                                  Sidney.
      [1913 Webster]

            She is a woman; therefore to be won.  --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To gain over to one's side or party; to obtain the favor,
      friendship, or support of; to render friendly or
      approving; as, to win an enemy; to win a jury.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. To come to by toil or effort; to reach; to overtake.
      [Archaic]
      [1913 Webster]

            Even in the porch he him did win.     --Spenser.
      [1913 Webster]

            And when the stony path began,
            By which the naked peak they wan,
            Up flew the snowy ptarmigan.          --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. (Mining) To extract, as ore or coal. --Raymond.
      [1913 Webster]

   Syn: To gain; get; procure; earn. See Gain.
        [1913 Webster]

Win \Win\, v. i.
   To gain the victory; to be successful; to triumph; to
   prevail.
   [1913 Webster]

         Nor is it aught but just
         That he, who in debate of truth hath won,
         should win in arms.                      --Milton.
   [1913 Webster]

   To win of, to be conqueror over. [Obs.] --Shak.

   To win on or To win upon.
   (a) To gain favor or influence with. "You have a softness and
       beneficence winning on the hearts of others." --Dryden.
   (b) To gain ground on. "The rabble . . . will in time win
       upon power." --Shak.
       [1913 Webster]

WIN
       WIssenschaftsNetz (network, DFN)
       

win


    [MIT; now common everywhere]

    1. vi. To succeed. A program wins if no unexpected conditions arise, or
    (especially) if it is sufficiently robust to take exceptions in stride.

    2. n. Success, or a specific instance thereof. A pleasing outcome. ?So it
    turned out I could use a lexer generator instead of hand-coding my own
    pattern recognizer. What a win!? Emphatic forms: moby win, super win,
    hyper-win (often used interjectively as a reply). For some reason suitable
    win is also common at MIT, usually in reference to a satisfactory solution
    to a problem. Oppose lose; see also big win, which isn't quite just an
    intensification of win.

win

    (Said of people, computers, algorithms, programs)
   (To be) a success at a given task.

   E.g. "WYSIWYG is a clear win for small documents".

   "winnitude" is the quality that something which wins has.
   "winning" is often (ab)used as an adjective.

   Synonyms: cuspy, elegant.  Antonym: lose.  Compare
   lossy, lossless.

   [Jargon File]

   (1996-09-08)