Phrase guide

Pyrrhic victory

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˌpɪɹ.ɪk ˈvɪk.t(ə)ɹ.i/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A very costly victory, wherein the considerable losses outweigh the gain, so as to render the struggle not worth the cost.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: hollow victory

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Alternative letter-case form of Pyrrhic victory

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a victory that is won by incurring terrible losses

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: victory, triumph

History

Etymology

After Greek king Pyrrhus of Epirus, who suffered heavy losses while defeating the Romans.

Across languages

Translations

36 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: պյուռոսյան հաղթանակ (pyuṙosyan haġtʻanak) — a costly victory
  • Azerbaijani: Pirr qələbəsi — a costly victory
  • Bulgarian: Пи́рова побе́да (Pírova pobéda) — a costly victory
  • Catalan: victòria pírrica — a costly victory
  • Chinese Cantonese: 慘勝 /惨胜 — a costly victory
  • Chinese Mandarin: 皮洛士式勝利 /皮洛士式胜利 (Píluòshì shì shènglì) — a costly victory
  • Chinese Mandarin: 慘勝 /惨胜 (cǎnshèng) — a costly victory
  • Czech: Pyrrhovo vítězství — a costly victory
  • Danish: pyrrhussejr — a costly victory
  • Dutch: pyrrusoverwinning — a costly victory
  • Esperanto: Pirha venko — a costly victory
  • Finnish: Pyrrhoksen voitto — a costly victory
  • French: victoire à la Pyrrhus — a costly victory
  • German: Pyrrhussieg — a costly victory
  • Greek: Πύρρειος νίκη (Pýrreios níki) — a costly victory
  • Hungarian: pirruszi győzelem — a costly victory
  • Indonesian: kemenangan piris — a costly victory
  • Indonesian: kemenangan Piris — a costly victory
  • Italian: vittoria di Pirro — a costly victory
  • Japanese: ピュロスの勝利 (Pyurosu no shōri) — a costly victory
  • Korean: 피로스의 승리 (Piroseuui seungni) — a costly victory
  • Latin: victoria Pyrrhica — a costly victory
  • Macedonian: Пирова победа (Pirova pobeda) — a costly victory
  • Norwegian Bokmål: pyrrhosseier — a costly victory
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: pyrrhossiger — a costly victory
  • Polish: pyrrusowe zwycięstwo — a costly victory
  • Portuguese: vitória de Pirro — a costly victory
  • Portuguese: vitória pírrica — a costly victory
  • Portuguese: vitória pirrónica — a costly victory
  • Portuguese: vitória pirrônica — a costly victory
  • Romanian: victorie à la Pirus — a costly victory
  • Russian: Пи́ррова побе́да (Pírrova pobéda) — a costly victory
  • Slovak: Pyrrhovo víťazstvo — a costly victory
  • Spanish: victoria pírrica — a costly victory
  • Swedish: pyrrhusseger — a costly victory
  • Turkish: Pirus zaferi — a costly victory