zero-sum
noun1
Abbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of zero-sum game, zero-sum situation, etc.
zero-sum
adj1
Computing, Engineering, Game theory, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences 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:
- Derived terms
- zero-sum game
- Related terms
- zero-based