winner-take-all

alternative winner take all · alternative winner-takes-all · alternative winner takes all · alternative winners take all

1. not comparableOf or pertaining to a contest, election, or other competition in which only the winner is rewarded and none of the losers receive anything.

   Under winner-take-all elections, many minority candidates find it nearly impossible to win.

   2000 January 3, Kathleen L. Barber, “Letters: Diversity on the Ballot”, in New York Times, retrieved 20 May 2014

   2 more examples

   You need luck in poker tournaments, because in the nature of this winner-take-all style of play, there will be several occasions when you cannot avoid putting all your money in the pot.

   1993 December 7, David Spanier, “Poker: Winner takes all”, in The Independent, UK, retrieved 20 May 2014

   [S]he volunteers to take her sister's place at the annual "Hunger Games", a bloody winner-take-all competition in which 24 teens fight to the death.

   2012 March 13, Silas Lesnick, “Interview: The Hunger Games’ Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson”, in ComingSoon.net, retrieved 20 May 2014

2. not comparableeconomicsOf a market in which a product or service that is only slightly better than its competitors receives a disproportionately large share of revenue.
3. not comparablecomputingOf a neural network model: organized so that neurons in a layer compete with each other for activation.