Meanings
pyrrhic victory1
plural pyrrhic victories
- Alternative letter-case form of Pyrrhic victory
Pyrrhic victory2
plural Pyrrhic victories · alternative pyrrhic victory
- A very costly victory, wherein the considerable losses outweigh the gain, so as to render the struggle not worth the cost.
We now know that it [the Six-Day War] was a Pyrrhic victory.
2002 November 21, Amos Elon, “Israelis & Palestinians: What Went Wrong?”, in The New York Review, archived from the original on 09 May 20211 more example
Tough pensions regulation designed to protect employees in final-salary occupational schemes will prove a pyrrhic victory for unions and the government, a report warned yesterday.
2005 October 6, Phillip Inman, “Pensions regulation 'killing final-salary schemes'”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 15 Mar 2016Synonyms: hollow victory
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA very costly victory, wherein the considerable losses outweigh the gain, so as to render the struggle not worth the cost.
Origin
After Greek king Pyrrhus of Epirus, who suffered heavy losses while defeating the Romans.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian Пи́рова побе́да
- Пи́рова побе́да (Pírova pobéda)a costly victory
Catalan victòria pírrica
- victòria pírricaa costly victory
Chinese Cantonese 慘勝 /惨胜
- 慘勝 /惨胜a costly victory
Chinese Mandarin 皮洛士式勝利 /皮洛士式胜利, 慘勝 /惨胜
- 皮洛士式勝利 /皮洛士式胜利 (Píluòshì shì shènglì)a costly victory
- 慘勝 /惨胜 (cǎnshèng)a costly victory
Czech Pyrrhovo vítězství
- Pyrrhovo vítězstvía costly victory
Danish pyrrhussejr
- pyrrhussejra costly victory
Dutch pyrrusoverwinning
- pyrrusoverwinninga costly victory
Esperanto Pirha venko
- Pirha venkoa costly victory
Finnish Pyrrhoksen voitto
- Pyrrhoksen voittoa costly victory
French victoire à la Pyrrhus
- victoire à la Pyrrhusa costly victory
German Pyrrhussieg
- Pyrrhussiega costly victory
Greek Πύρρειος νίκη
- Πύρρειος νίκη (Pýrreios níki)a costly victory
Hungarian pirruszi győzelem
- pirruszi győzelema costly victory
Indonesian kemenangan piris, kemenangan Piris
- kemenangan pirisa costly victory
- kemenangan Pirisa costly victory
Italian vittoria di Pirro
- vittoria di Pirroa costly victory
Japanese ピュロスの勝利
- ピュロスの勝利 (Pyurosu no shōri)a costly victory
Korean 피로스의 승리
- 피로스의 승리 (Piroseuui seungni)a costly victory
Latin victoria Pyrrhica
- victoria Pyrrhicaa costly victory
Norwegian Bokmål pyrrhosseier
- pyrrhosseiera costly victory
Polish pyrrusowe zwycięstwo
- pyrrusowe zwycięstwoa costly victory
Portuguese vitória de Pirro, vitória pírrica
- vitória de Pirroa costly victory
- vitória pírricaa costly victory
- vitória pirrónicaa costly victory
- vitória pirrônicaa costly victory
Romanian victorie à la Pirus
- victorie à la Pirusa costly victory
Russian Пи́ррова побе́да
- Пи́ррова побе́да (Pírrova pobéda)a costly victory
Slovak Pyrrhovo víťazstvo
- Pyrrhovo víťazstvoa costly victory
Spanish victoria pírrica
- victoria pírricaa costly victory
Swedish pyrrhusseger
- pyrrhussegera costly victory
Turkish Pirus zaferi
- Pirus zaferia costly victory
Cite this entry
pyrrhic victory. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pyrrhic%20victory
“pyrrhic victory.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pyrrhic%20victory. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pyrrhic victory,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pyrrhic%20victory.
Source: pyrrhic victory on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.