winning

/ˈwɪnɪŋ/

winning is the present participle and gerund of win.

Adjective

winning (comparative more winning or winninger, superlative most winning or winningest)

That constitutes a win.
- the winning entry in the competition
- the winning lotto numbers
That leads to success.
- a winning formula, strategy, etc.
Attractive.
- a winning smile

winning (plural winnings)

The act of obtaining something, as in a contest or by competition.
(in plural) The money, etc., gained by success in competition or contest, especially in gambling.
- Ye seeke land and sea for your winnings.1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Man of Lawes Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray...
A new opening.
- The train proceeded to North Pittington Colliery, 600 yd. away, where the Duke viewed the new winning, examined the pumping and drawing engines, and saw how pitmen descended and ascended the shaft.1948 January and February, “Notes and News: Duke of Wellington's Early Railway Journey”, in Railway Magazine, page 55
The portion of a coalfield out for working.

win (third-person singular simple present wins, present participle winning, simple past won or (obsolete) wan, past participle won)

(obsolete, transitive) To conquer, defeat.
- For and we doo bataille we two wyl fyghte with one knyȝt at ones
  and therfore yf ye wille fyghte ſoo we wille be redy at what houre ye wille aſſigne
  And yf ye wynne vs in bataille the lady ſhal haue her landes ageyne
  ye ſay wel ſayd ſir Vwayne
  therfor make yow redy ſo that ye be here to morne in...1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book IV
(intransitive, transitive) To reach some destination or object, despite difficulty or toil (now usually intransitive, with preposition or locative adverb).
- I well may gang out, love, but I'll never win home.c. 17th century, unknown author, The Baron of Brackley (traditional folk song)
(transitive) To triumph or achieve victory in (a game, a war, etc.).
(transitive) To gain (a prize) by succeeding in competition or contest.
- to win the jackpot in a lottery; to win a bottle of wine in a raffle
(transitive) To obtain (someone) by wooing; to make an ally or friend of (frequently with over).
- Thy virtue won me; with virtue preserve me.a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London...
(intransitive) To achieve victory.
- Who would win in a fight between an octopus and a dolphin?

Winning (plural Winnings)

Scottish altered form of Finan.

What does winning mean?: Winning means that constitutes a win.
What is winning the present participle and gerund of?: Winning is the present participle and gerund of win.
What part of speech is winning?: Winning can be an adjective, a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce winning?: Winning is pronounced /ˈwɪnɪŋ/.

Adapted from Wiktionary: winning (page history and authors); Winning (page history and authors); win (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-winning.ogg.

Cite this entry: “winning.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/winning. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.