Won is the past tense of the verb “to win.” When you win something, you achieve victory in a competition, game, or challenge. After the final whistle blows or the last point is scored, you can say you won.

You might have won a spelling bee last month, won a chess match against your older brother, or won first place at the science fair. Athletes talk about games they've won and lost. A candidate who won an election earned the most votes.

The word captures that moment when effort, skill, or sometimes luck pays off. When someone asks “Who won?” after a basketball game or debate competition, they're asking who came out on top.

People also use won more broadly for any success or achievement. If you won your parents' permission to get a dog after months of proving you're responsible, you succeeded in convincing them. If a lawyer won her case, she persuaded the jury. In these uses, won means you achieved what you set out to accomplish.