zero-sum game

A situation, process, competition, or outcome in which the winner's gain is exactly equal to the loser's loss. Poker is a zero-sum game because the amount of money won by one player is equivalent to the amount lost by the other players.

a zero-sum game

JOURNALISM

If a situation is a zero-sum game, the advantage that one person gains from it must have an equal disadvantage for someone else. The idea that foreign investment is a zero-sum game — that one country's gain is another's loss — is mistaken. Note: Other nouns are sometimes used instead of game. According to Reed, employee benefits are a zero-sum gain. If costs for one benefit rise, it's often at the expense of another, such as paid vacation and health insurance. Note: A zero-sum game is one in which the winnings and losses of all the players add up to zero.

See also: game

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

See also:

a zero-sum game
skin game
when the chips are down
chips are down, the
in sum
hole card
a hole card
paint
paint card
ante in

References in periodicals archive

In a zero-sum game, product differentiation begins to wane, commoditization increases and there's competitive pressure on both pricing and underwriting to make concessions.

Breaking free of a zero-sum game

Some of the RFRA claims that will undoubtedly follow Hobby Lobby will involve zero-sum games. Game theorists define a zero-sum game as "an endeavor in which the net result is zero.

Hobby Lobby and the zero-sum game

Ukrainians see tens of thousands of Russian troops across their border and know they are looking down the barrel of quite a zero-sum game.

'Regional' qualifiers

In testimony last week to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Burgess said, "Tehran sees competition for influence in Iraq as a zero-sum game--for Tehran to win, the US has to lose." In the United States, to say someone views reality as a zero-sum game amounts to an insult; it says that person really doesn't know much about the world.

US military not impressed by regime's sophistication

Among the topics are the next west, coyote commons, Glacier National Park, water in the Rockies as a zero-sum game, life among the pine beetles, what Colorado can learn from the Samso experiments, the changing rules of energy finance, homegrown security, and green city leadership.

How the West was warmed; responding to climate change in the Rockies

His assertion makes it seem as if the time we have is a zero-sum game and there's nothing we can do about it.

Keeping the right balance

It proves that linguistic management in education is not a zero-sum game. By introducing multilingual education in Central Asia, you are proving that majority and minority languages can thrive side by side and need not develop at the expense of each other," Vollebaek said.The countries taking part in the conference - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - committed to devote particular attention to the training of minority-language teachers for national minority schools."I warmly welcome this renewed commitment," Vollebaek said.

OSCE Minorities Commissioner calls for wider use of multilingual education in Central Asia

"Moscow should rethink its strategy of international relations as a zero-sum game, which in my mind is reminiscent of the 1970s superpower politics.

'Russia's Suez' claim; POLITICS GEORGIA

Hoping to move past the tiresome zero-sum game bantered between the two, Embracing Mind strives to focus upon what really matters to us all - the understanding of reality.

Embracing Mind

Life, and the business of life, is not a zero-sum game. The fact that one person prospers does not mean that someone else is left the poorer for it.

What's wrong with being "rich"?

The bigger picture here that executives must be mindful of is that economic competition over the world's resources and raw materials is quickly becoming a zero-sum game in which whatever China can lock down will be denied to the U.S.

To be or not to be ... in China: pursuing a China strategy is likely on the minds of every senior financial executive--with the lure of low-cost labor and 1 billion customers--yet despite the promise of great rewards, the reality is that every step in the process is fraught with great risk

The world is not a zero-sum game, where wealth is a pie that never grows.

Global view: the 12th Bravo Business Award honorees want nothing less than to change the world

Looking forward in the American market, he thinks that there will undoubtedly be growth in the B segment, but that because the market is, in his view, a zero-sum game, that growth will come at the expense of other segments, such as light trucks and full-size SUVs.

Daniel Sims: designing Mitsubishis; When he started at Chrysler, he was assigned to work on Mitsubishi-based products. So eventually, he just joined Mitsubishi, where he now manages the design studio in California

We should be competing to lock up supplies and diversifying and exploring new technologies." Berman argued that as resources become scarcer there is no way to avoid a zero-sum game. "We have to approach this through the lens of the haves and have-nots," he declared.

Peak oil panic: is the planet running out of gas? If it is, what should the Bush administration do about it?

"But retirement is not a zero-sum game. There are a lot of Americans that have not met their retirement needs yet, that aren't working with a financial specialist to help them get there."

Retirement coaches: as Americans fret about their post-career lives, insurers see big opportunities to help

词组	zero-sum game
释义	zero-sum game zero-sum game A situation, process, competition, or outcome in which the winner's gain is exactly equal to the loser's loss. Poker is a zero-sum game because the amount of money won by one player is equivalent to the amount lost by the other players. See also: game Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. a zero-sum game JOURNALISM If a situation is a zero-sum game, the advantage that one person gains from it must have an equal disadvantage for someone else. The idea that foreign investment is a zero-sum game — that one country's gain is another's loss — is mistaken. Note: Other nouns are sometimes used instead of game. According to Reed, employee benefits are a zero-sum gain. If costs for one benefit rise, it's often at the expense of another, such as paid vacation and health insurance. Note: A zero-sum game is one in which the winnings and losses of all the players add up to zero. See also: game Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. See also: a zero-sum game skin game when the chips are down chips are down, the in sum hole card a hole card paint paint card ante in References in periodicals archive In a zero-sum game, product differentiation begins to wane, commoditization increases and there's competitive pressure on both pricing and underwriting to make concessions. Breaking free of a zero-sum game Some of the RFRA claims that will undoubtedly follow Hobby Lobby will involve zero-sum games. Game theorists define a zero-sum game as "an endeavor in which the net result is zero. Hobby Lobby and the zero-sum game Ukrainians see tens of thousands of Russian troops across their border and know they are looking down the barrel of quite a zero-sum game. 'Regional' qualifiers In testimony last week to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Burgess said, "Tehran sees competition for influence in Iraq as a zero-sum game--for Tehran to win, the US has to lose." In the United States, to say someone views reality as a zero-sum game amounts to an insult; it says that person really doesn't know much about the world. US military not impressed by regime's sophistication Among the topics are the next west, coyote commons, Glacier National Park, water in the Rockies as a zero-sum game, life among the pine beetles, what Colorado can learn from the Samso experiments, the changing rules of energy finance, homegrown security, and green city leadership. How the West was warmed; responding to climate change in the Rockies His assertion makes it seem as if the time we have is a zero-sum game and there's nothing we can do about it. Keeping the right balance It proves that linguistic management in education is not a zero-sum game. By introducing multilingual education in Central Asia, you are proving that majority and minority languages can thrive side by side and need not develop at the expense of each other," Vollebaek said.The countries taking part in the conference - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - committed to devote particular attention to the training of minority-language teachers for national minority schools."I warmly welcome this renewed commitment," Vollebaek said. OSCE Minorities Commissioner calls for wider use of multilingual education in Central Asia "Moscow should rethink its strategy of international relations as a zero-sum game, which in my mind is reminiscent of the 1970s superpower politics. 'Russia's Suez' claim; POLITICS GEORGIA Hoping to move past the tiresome zero-sum game bantered between the two, Embracing Mind strives to focus upon what really matters to us all - the understanding of reality. Embracing Mind Life, and the business of life, is not a zero-sum game. The fact that one person prospers does not mean that someone else is left the poorer for it. What's wrong with being "rich"? The bigger picture here that executives must be mindful of is that economic competition over the world's resources and raw materials is quickly becoming a zero-sum game in which whatever China can lock down will be denied to the U.S. To be or not to be ... in China: pursuing a China strategy is likely on the minds of every senior financial executive--with the lure of low-cost labor and 1 billion customers--yet despite the promise of great rewards, the reality is that every step in the process is fraught with great risk The world is not a zero-sum game, where wealth is a pie that never grows. Global view: the 12th Bravo Business Award honorees want nothing less than to change the world Looking forward in the American market, he thinks that there will undoubtedly be growth in the B segment, but that because the market is, in his view, a zero-sum game, that growth will come at the expense of other segments, such as light trucks and full-size SUVs. Daniel Sims: designing Mitsubishis; When he started at Chrysler, he was assigned to work on Mitsubishi-based products. So eventually, he just joined Mitsubishi, where he now manages the design studio in California We should be competing to lock up supplies and diversifying and exploring new technologies." Berman argued that as resources become scarcer there is no way to avoid a zero-sum game. "We have to approach this through the lens of the haves and have-nots," he declared. Peak oil panic: is the planet running out of gas? If it is, what should the Bush administration do about it? "But retirement is not a zero-sum game. There are a lot of Americans that have not met their retirement needs yet, that aren't working with a financial specialist to help them get there." Retirement coaches: as Americans fret about their post-career lives, insurers see big opportunities to help
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