Dictionary

zero-sum en · ADJ

Meanings

1. (not-comparable) Of a system, where all gains are offset by exactly equal losses.
   • 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, →ISSN:
   • When disorder reigns, humanity tends toward an extraction system. This kind of existence is one of low trust and zero-sum, where people are replaceable, the past is overlooked, and those who react quickly prevail. 2026 January 22, “The Myth that the World rewards Talent (or why current systems punish Virtue)”, in An Actor Explains, via Substack, archived from the original on 04 Feb 2026:

Coordinates

positive-sum · win-win · negative-sum

Deriveds

zero-sum game

Relateds

zero-based

wikipedia: zero-sum

zero-sum en · NOUN

Meanings

1. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis) Ellipsis of zero-sum game, zero-sum situation, etc.
   alt of etc
   alt of zero-sum game
   alt of zero-sum situation

Forms

Coordinates

win-win · lose-lose

wikipedia: zero-sum