zero-sum

adjective

ze·ro-sum ˈzir-(ˌ)ō-ˈsəm

ˈzē-(ˌ)rō-

: of, relating to, or being a situation (such as a game or relationship) in which a gain for one side entails a corresponding loss for the other side

dividing up the budget is a zero-sum game

Did you know?

Does game theory sound like fun? It can be—if you are a mathematician or economist who needs to analyze a competitive situation in which the outcome is determined by the choices of the players and chance. Game theory was introduced by mathematician John von Neumann and economist Oskar Morgenstern in their 1944 book The Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. In game theory, a zero-sum game is one, such as chess or checkers, where each player has a clear purpose that is completely opposed to that of the opponent. In economics, a situation is zero-sum if the gains of one party are exactly balanced by the losses of another and no net gain or loss is created; however, such situations in real life are rare.

Examples of zero-sum in a Sentence

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Trump’s second term, meanwhile, is poised to usher in a full embrace of the zero-sum transactionalism that order was created to supersede. —

Ben Rhodes, Foreign Affairs, 13 Dec. 2024 This isn’t a zero-sum game, where one side wins and the other loses. —

Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2024 College football is not a zero-sum game, of course. —

Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 9 Dec. 2024 The incoming administration embraces the Lump of Labor Fallacy – the idea that jobs are a zero-sum game where one person’s job comes at the expense of another’s job. —

Steven Greenhut, Orange County Register, 6 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for zero-sum