victory

VIK-tuh-ree/ˈvɪk.tə.ɹi/

3 meanings of victory

1
winnouncountable or uncountable
The state of having won a battle or contest, or of having succeeded in an effort.
The general's victory ended years of bitter fighting.
Her victory in the election surprised nearly every analyst.
UsageOne win is a victory: a victory over a rival, a victory in the final. People win or claim a victory.
Similarwin, triumph
Oppositedefeat, loss
Note
In Middle English the same word covered far more ground: conquest, a triumphal procession, a monument to a conquest, even moral vindication. Myles Coverdale's Bible of 1535 says the horn 'gat the victory off them', where modern English would say it won a victory over them.
2
cheerinterjection
Shouted to spur someone toward success, or to celebrate a triumph.
"Victory!" the captain roared, and the whole line surged forward behind him.
Victory! The climbers have reached the summit at last!
Note
A battle cry before it is a cheer. Soldiers in Shakespeare's The First Part of Henry the Sixt are urged on with 'Saint George and Victory.' It often comes doubled, as in Shelley's 'Victory! Victory!', and it can take to plus a beneficiary: 'Victory to the prostrate nations!' That construction wishes triumph on a side rather than announcing it.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
In Shakespeare's The First Part of Henry the Sixt, Talbot urges soldiers to fight with 'Saint George and victory'. gutenberg.org
Shelley uses the doubled exclamation 'Victory! Victory!'; in Hellas it is spoken by a Voice Without. gutenberg.org
The quoted words 'Victory to the prostrate nations!' occur in Shelley's The Revolt of Islam, Canto V. gutenberg.org
3
verbobsoletetransitive
To beat or prevail over an opponent or obstacle.
Note
An obsolete verb with its own pedigree. It comes from Middle English victorien, from Old French victorier or Medieval Latin victōriāre, so it is not a later conversion of the everyday noun. It took a direct object and regular forms, victoried and victorying, as when John Welles in 1639 speaks of sins 'victoried' and made slaves.

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–2

The noun comes from Middle English "victorie," borrowed through Anglo-Norman and Old French from Latin "victōria" ("victory"), which was built from "victor" ("champion, winner, conqueror") plus a suffix forming feminine abstract nouns. The Latin root ultimately goes back to Proto-Indo-European "*weyk-" ("to overcome"), and the word displaced the Middle English "siȝe."

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 8 facts

The noun's borrowing chain runs through Middle English and French to Latin. en.wiktionary.org
Latin victōria means victory. en.wiktionary.org
Latin victōria was formed from victor plus -ia. en.wiktionary.org
Latin victor means champion, winner or conqueror. en.wiktionary.org
The suffix forms feminine abstract nouns. en.wiktionary.org
The ultimate reconstructed root is *weyk-, meaning to overcome. en.wiktionary.org
The reconstructed root *weyk- means to overcome. en.wiktionary.org
Victory displaced Middle English siȝe. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 3

The verb is built on the Latin noun "victōria" (see etymology 1): Medieval Latin made "victōriāre" and Old French "victorier," and one or the other gave Middle English "victorien" ("to overcome, vanquish").