zero-sum game

American

noun

Mathematics.

a game in which the sum of the winnings and losses of the various players is always zero, the losses being counted negatively.

zero-sum game British

noun

(in game theory) a contest in which one person's loss is equal to the other person's gain

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

zero-sum game Scientific

A game in which the sum of the winnings by all the players is zero. In a zero-sum game, a gain by one player must be matched by a loss by another player. Poker is a zero-sum game if the house does not take a cut as a charge for playing.

zero-sum game Cultural

A game in which the winnings of some players must equal the losses of the others. Zero-sum games are mentioned in a political context when it is believed that resources are limited, and every decision will produce both winners and losers. In such situations, political decisions will be made on the basis of trade-offs between competing interests.

Etymology

Origin of zero-sum game

First recorded in 1940–45

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.

“We don’t believe in a system that’s basically a zero-sum game that says ‘If we pay you, we’ve got to take that out of the pocket of another player,’” Meyer said.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Now there’s a record. It’s easy when you’re the activist fighting the system. But when you’re in there, you realize it’s a zero-sum game,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

These won’t change the fact that housing remains a zero-sum game.

From The Wall Street Journal

Representing multiple entities in pursuit of the same pots of money is a zero-sum game.

From The Wall Street Journal

If investors start to see the race for AI supremacy as more of a zero-sum game, that could also create problems for indexes like the S&P 500, Thompson said.

From MarketWatch

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