expensive win

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "expensive win" is correct and usable in written English. You can use it to describe a victory or success that comes at a high cost, whether financial or otherwise. For example, "The team's victory was an expensive win, as they lost several key players to injury." Alternative expressions include "costly victory" and "pricey win."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Formal & Business

Academia

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

60 human-written examples

The runner-up plan required constructing two costly latticework towers, but the less expensive winning design seems to commit government only to prepare the memorial park for the memorial itself.

The New York Times

Such claims are time-consuming and expensive to win, so most lenders do not pursue them.

The New York Times

For Republicans, this means, for example, turning to approximately 10 heavily Democratic Congressional districts in California where there are relatively few registered Republicans, making it easier, and less expensive, to win a district and its three delegates.

The New York Times

Accidents at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and Chernobyl in Ukraine seemed to seal the industry's fate as too dangerous, too uncontrollable and too expensive to win back a frightened public or secure the financial backing of Wall Street.

The New York Times

The long-awaited Prince George's County regional hospital is too big and too expensive to win state regulatory approval without major changes, according to the Maryland Health Care Commission member reviewing the project.

The Washington Post

Data suggests that it's 25 times as expensive to win new business as it is to retain existing customers.

Huffington Post

Ms. Dickson said that more expensive socks won prime store real estate 18 months ago and that demand isn't slowing.

The New York Times

Money is at a premium as more states reschedule primaries to earlier dates, creating more expensive, must-win arenas for the candidates to buy into.

The New York Times

Bale's season had ended in an extraordinary triumph; the world's most expensive player winning the world's greatest club prize.

The Guardian - Sport

On June 10th Mr Welch, helped by some expensive lawyers, won a stunning victory in a case he had brought against five state laws governing the hiring and firing of teachers.The lawsuit, issued on behalf of nine schoolchildren, concentrated on three areas: teacher tenure, dismissal procedures and seniority rules.

The Economist

Chelsea, for whom no player is too expensive, has won back-to-back Premiership titles, and although United finished second last season, their chances of regaining the top spot seem remote while Abramovich is content to bankroll his team's ambitions.

Forbes

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Consider using the phrase in legal contexts to describe lawsuits where the legal fees may nearly outweigh the damages awarded.

Common error

Avoid using "expensive win" when you mean the win was strategically damaging but not necessarily costly in terms of resources. In those cases, a "Pyrrhic victory" is a more precise term.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "expensive win" functions as a noun phrase composed of the qualifying adjective "expensive" and the head noun "win". While the search results from Ludwig often show the words used in a sequence like "expensive to win" or "expensive winning campaign", the combined concept serves as a descriptor for high-stakes outcomes in competitive environments.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

65%

Formal & Business

25%

Academia

10%

Less common in

Wiki

5%

Social Media

3%

Science

2%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "expensive win" is a robust and linguistically sound way to describe a victory that comes at a high price. Analysis from Ludwig AI confirms that while it is widely used in journalism and business, it often appears within broader constructions such as "expensive campaign to win" or "too expensive to win". Whether you are discussing a sports team's heavy spending for a championship or a grueling legal battle, this phrase effectively communicates that the path to success was resource-intensive. For more dramatic impact, writers often pivot to synonyms like "costly victory" or the more literary ""Pyrrhic victory"", but "expensive win" remains a versatile and clear choice for modern English writing.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

costly victory

Shifts the emphasis from financial price to a more general sense of loss or high stakes.

pricey success

Provides a more informal or colloquial tone while maintaining the focus on financial expenditure.

extravagant triumph

Suggests that the victory was achieved through excessive or lavish spending.

overpriced gain

Implies that the benefits of the victory do not justify the resources consumed.

Pyrrhic victory

Introduces a specific historical and literary allusion to a win that inflicts such a heavy toll it is tantamount to defeat.

dear victory

Uses a more traditional or literary adjective to denote a high cost paid for success.

taxing win

Emphasizes the physical, mental or logistical strain required to achieve the result.

draining success

Focuses on the depletion of resources or energy following the achievement.

burdensome win

Highlights the heavy responsibilities or debts incurred as a result of winning.

hollow win

Focuses on the lack of emotional or strategic value despite the success.

FAQs

How to use expensive win in a sentence?

You can use it as a noun phrase to describe an outcome, for example: "The acquisition was an "expensive win" for the tech giant, costing billions in cash and stock options."

What can I say instead of expensive win?

Depending on your specific meaning, you could use alternatives like "costly victory", "pricey success" or "extravagant triumph".

Is expensive win grammatically correct?

Yes, it is a standard adjective-noun pairing. Ludwig AI confirms it is correct and usable in written English, especially when referring to victories with high financial or personal costs.

What is the difference between expensive win and Pyrrhic victory?

An "expensive win" usually refers to a high literal cost (money, resources), while a ""Pyrrhic victory"" implies that the cost was so high it destroyed the winner's ability to continue or thrive.