Meanings
plural zero-sum games
- computingA game (or a similar political or economic system) in which the gains of some players must equal the losses of others.
Listen, I know it's been hard / You know it’s no different for me / We’re less than a zero-sum game now / And baby, we both know that's not how it's supposed to be
2014, “The Writing's On the Wall”, in Hungry Ghosts, performed by OK Go4 more examples
Dalio is right, but somewhat self-serving. If hedge-fund managers are playing a zero-sum game, what is their social utility? […] Can it really be in America’s interest to have so much of its young talent playing a zero-sum game?
2011 July 18, John Cassidy, “Mastering the Machine”, in The New Yorker, →ISSNA zero-sum game, as its name suggests, is one in which, whatever the outcome, the payoffs to the players add up to zero, which means that what one player gains, the other(s) must necessarily lose.
2013, Andrew M. Colman, Game Theory and its Applications: In the Social and Biological Sciences, Psychology Press, →ISBN, page 55He said turning a lab-created animal into a wild population would be an “enormous challenge”, but the financial support for de-extinction research should not be seen as a “zero sum game”.
2022 August 16, Adam Morton, “De-extinction: scientists are planning the multimillion-dollar resurrection of the Tasmanian tiger”, in The GuardianOn the flight home after their first talks, a deflated Merkel concluded that Trump “looked at everything like the real estate developer he was before he entered politics” – as a zero-sum game.
2024 November 21, Deborah Cole, “Merkel: I mistook Trump for ‘someone completely normal’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
Translations
Chinese Cantonese 零和博弈, 零和遊戲 /零和游戏
- 零和博弈 (ling⁴ wo⁴ bok³ jik⁶)system in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
- 零和遊戲 /零和游戏 (ling⁴ wo⁴ jau⁴ hei³)system in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Chinese Mandarin 零和博弈, 零和遊戲 /零和游戏
- 零和博弈 (línghé bóyì)system in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
- 零和遊戲 /零和游戏 (línghé yóuxì)system in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Danish nulsumsspil
- nulsumsspilsystem in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Dutch nulsomspel
- nulsomspelsystem in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Finnish nollasummapeli
- nollasummapelisystem in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
French jeu à somme nulle
- jeu à somme nullesystem in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
German Nullsummenspiel
- Nullsummenspielsystem in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Hebrew משחק סכום אפס
- משחק סכום אפס (miskhák skhum éfes)system in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Icelandic núllsummuleikur
- núllsummuleikursystem in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Italian gioco a somma zero
- gioco a somma zerosystem in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Japanese ゼロ和ゲーム, ゼロサムゲーム
- ゼロ和ゲーム (zerowa gēmu)system in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
- ゼロサムゲーム (zerosamu gēmu)system in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Korean 제로섬 게임
- 제로섬 게임 (jeroseom geim)system in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Persian بازی مجموع-صفر
- بازی مجموع-صفر (bâzi-ye majmu'-sefr)system in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Polish gra o sumie stałej
- gra o sumie stałejsystem in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Portuguese jogo de soma zero
- jogo de soma zerosystem in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Russian антагонистическая игра
- антагонистическая игра (antagonističeskaja igra)system in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Spanish juego de suma cero
- juego de suma cerosystem in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Swedish nollsummespel
- nollsummespelsystem in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Vietnamese trò chơi có tổng bằng không
- trò chơi có tổng bằng khôngsystem in which one player's winnings must equal losses of others
Cite this entry
zero-sum game. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zero-sum%20game
“zero-sum game.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zero-sum%20game. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “zero-sum game,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zero-sum%20game.
Source: zero-sum game on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.