Language Activator – Win

Win/come in first/first place

win

(intransitive/transitive verb)

to win a race, competition, election etc, for example by getting more points, votes etc than everyone else or by being the first to finish

.No-one really expected the Socialist Party to win

win a race/game/election etc

.Chang won the first set but lost the next two

win a prize/medal/cup etc

.His book won the Pulitzer Prize for literature

win by 6 votes/2 goals etc

win by getting 6 votes etc more than the other person or team

.He went ahead of Nolan, winning by 15 seconds

win 4-2/20-12 etc

use this to show the final result of a game

.Do you remember our first game of the season? We won 3-1

win at cards/chess/tennis etc

.She always wins at Scrabble

finish first/be first/come in first also come first

(verb phrase not in progressive)

to win a race or competition in which more than two people or teams are competing

.André Etienne came in first, having completed the course in record time

finish first/be first/come in first in

.Sue finished first in two races — the 50m backstroke and the 100m front crawl

first place

(singular noun)

the position of the person or team that wins a race or competition

in first place

.Johnson finished in first place, narrowly ahead of Green

win first place in

.My greatest achievement was winning first place in the Young Artist competition

get in

(intransitive phrasal verb not in progressive)

.if a political party gets in, they win an election, and have the right to form a government

?Do you think Labour will get in again at the next election

:Practice

:Fill in the blanks with appropriate words

.N1. The competition was ————- by a Nigerian student

.N2. An Australian runner ————- first in the marathon

?N3. Who do you think will ——— first

.N4. The British team was ———— followed closely by the Americans

?N5. What would you do if you ——— $1 million

:Answers

won/ came/ finish/ first/ won