victory

To deftly or easily win a race, contest, or competition. Primarily heard in UK. With her arch-rival out of commission with a pulled hamstring, the defending champion romped to victory at the Olympics once again. Showing their utter superiority on the pitch, the boys in blue look set to romp to a 6–2 victory.

To fail, lose, or be defeated despite the appearance that one would be victorious, especially due to a mistake, error, or poor judgment. (An ironic reversal of the more common "snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.") We were ahead by nearly 20 points with less than half the quarter remaining—how on earth did we manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory like that? The candidate has led in the polls right up to election day, but with that unfortunate remark last night, he may well have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

A victory that is not worth achieving because of the excessive toll it takes on the victor. Winning the lawsuit was a Pyrrhic victory, since it cost us everything we had.

a victory by a large margin; a very substantial victory, particularly in an election. The mayor won a landslide victory in the election. The younger candidate won a landslide victory in the presidential election.

Cliché to win at the last moment. At the last moment, the team snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a last-second full-court basket.

a victory that is not worth winning because you have suffered so much to achieve it Winning the case may well prove to be a Pyrrhic victory as the award will not even cover their legal fees.

A victory that is offset by staggering losses, as in The campaign was so divisive that even though he won the election it was a Pyrrhic victory . This expression alludes to Kind Pyrrhus of Epirus, who defeated the Romans at Asculum in b.c. 279, but lost his best officers and many of his troops. Pyrrhus then said: "Another such victory and we are lost." In English the term was first recorded (used figuratively) in 1879.