win

/wɪn/

//wɪn// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"win" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“win” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #408) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#408
frequency rank, English
12,113
“W” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To conquer, defeat.

Corpus desk

Index EN-win · win · English

win · rank #408 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #408
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 12,113
  • PHOTO-FINISH university

Nearest frequency peer: university (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “win”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “win” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

win vs Wu
0% similar
win vs wo
33% similar
win vs wt
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for win
PropertyValue
Headwordwin
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/wɪn/
Letters3
Frequency rank#408
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “win” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). win lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for win is neighbouring look-alikes ("Wu", "wo", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /wɪn/. Frequency #408 among 12,113 “W” headwords. 12 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Zero misspellings are on record for win in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Wu", "wo", "wt", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English winnen, from Old English winnan (“to labour, swink, toil,”) (compare Old English ġewinnan (“conquer, obtain, gain; endure, bear, suffer; be ill”)), from Proto-West Germanic *winnan, from Proto-Germanic *winnaną (“to swink, labour, win, g… The correct English form is win, spelled W-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To conquer, defeat.
  2. 2
    To reach some destination or object, despite difficulty or toil (now usually intransitive, with preposition or locative adverb).
  3. 3
    To triumph or achieve victory in (a game, a war, etc.).
  4. 4
    To gain (a prize) by succeeding in competition or contest.
  5. 5
    To obtain (someone) by wooing; to make an ally or friend of (frequently with over).
  6. 6
    To achieve victory.
  7. 7
    To have power, coercion or control.
  8. 8
    To obtain (something desired).
  9. 9
    To cause a victory for someone.
  10. 10
    To extract (ore, coal, etc.).
  11. 11
    To defeat or surpass someone or something.
  12. 12
    To take priority.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how win appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 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 the defence of the ladyes ryght
  2. For the glory, the power to win the Black Lord, I will search for the Emerald Sword.

Etymology

From Middle English winnen, from Old English winnan (“to labour, swink, toil,”) (compare Old English ġewinnan (“conquer, obtain, gain; endure, bear, suffer; be ill”)), from Proto-West Germanic *winnan, from Proto-Germanic *winnaną (“to swink, labour, win, gain, fight”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to strive, wish, desire, love”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian wan, wane, wen, wine, wune (“to win”), Saterland Frisian and West Frisian winne (“to win”), Cimbrian gabènnan (“to win”), Dutch and Low German winnen (“to win”), German gewinnen (“to win”), Luxembourgish gewannen (“to win”), Danish vinde (“to win”), Faroese and Icelandic vinna (“to win”), Norwegian Bokmål vinne (“to win”), Norwegian Nynorsk vinna, vinne (“to win”), Swedish vinna (“to win”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (winnan, “to suffer”); also Latin venus (“beauty, charm, elegance, grace; beloved, love”), Albanian vuaj, vuj (“to suffer; to endure”), Sanskrit वनोति (vanoti, “to desire, like, love, wish; to gain, procure; to win; to prepare; to hurt, injure”).

Synonyms

achievebring home the bacondeserveearnhit the jackpotindebtscoretriumphvictorywalk off withwin

Antonyms

losefail

This word in other languages

ganar(Español)gagner(Français)gewinnen(Deutsch)vencer(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "win"?
"win" is spelled W-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /wɪn/.
What does "win" mean?
As a verb, "win" means: To conquer, defeat.
What words are commonly confused with "win"?
"win" is commonly confused with "Wu", "wo", "wt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "win"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "win" is /wɪn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "win"?
From Middle English winnen, from Old English winnan (“to labour, swink, toil,”) (compare Old English ġewinnan (“conquer, obtain, gain; endure, bear, suffer; be ill”)), from Proto-West Germanic *winnan, from Proto-Germanic *winnaną (“to swink, labo... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "win", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

air#418bit#419hit#421pay#390
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list