Meaning & use
a win win situation
Last updated
UK/ə ˌwɪn ˈwɪn ˌsɪtʃuˈeɪʃn̩/
US/ə ˌwɪn ˈwɪn ˌsɪtʃuˈeɪʃn̩/
Meaning
nouncountablebusiness
An arrangement in which everyone involved benefits and nobody loses out.
Grammar: Countable: it is a win-win situation.
Patterns
- create a win-win situation
- be a win-win situation
Sharing the office space was a win-win situation for both firms.
The exchange program is a win-win situation: students learn and hosts earn.
Negotiators try to find a win-win situation.
Word forms
| plural | win-win situations |
|---|
Common combinations
- create a win-win situation
- The deal created a win-win situation.
- a true win-win situation
- It is a true win-win situation for the town.
- find a win-win situation
- They hope to find a win-win situation.
- win-win solution
- A win-win solution satisfied everyone.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mutually beneficial arrangement
- Mutually beneficial arrangement is formal, while a win-win situation is common and shorter.
- best of both worlds
- Best of both worlds is about one person enjoying two advantages, not several parties gaining.
- no-lose situation
- No-lose situation stresses that nobody can lose, but not necessarily that all gain.
Opposites
lose-lose situation
Word family
- win verb
- to succeed or gain
- win-win adjective
- good for all sides
- situation noun
- a set of circumstances
Commonly confused: a win win situation or zero-sum game?
a win win situation vs zero-sum game
In a zero-sum game, one side's gain is another's loss, the opposite of win-win.
Practice
Which is the best example of a win-win situation?
Choose one answer.
Both sides gain from sharing a warehouse. In the others at least one side loses.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a win win situation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.