WIN?

I had a copy editor tonight leave a large message on my page, saying "Win is a verb, victory is a noun."
I have tried to argue with him that win is also a noun, as in "Podunk got the 55-39 win by shooting lights out."
Am I wrong or is he being ultra-elitist about the English language. I have cited the two online dictionaries that say win is acceptable as a noun.
Have at it guys (and gals).

 

I prefer victory and change it when I can. But I won't fight with a writer over it.

 

It's old school, but it's not wrong. Like Doc, I prefer victory, but win's easier in tight spaces. It's one of those words with a meaning that has kind of shifted.

 

It's one of those fights that probably aren't worth fighting anymore, since "win" as a noun has become so acceptable to most.

Used to be, your editor was 100 percent correct. There are many editors who still feel that way.

I'm with Doc and IJAG. "Victory" is more acceptable than "win," but I'm not going to blow a gasket over it.

My first ME felt the same way about using "host" as a verb and I inherited it from him. That one, I will blow a gasket over.

 

If I were a desker, I'd be more inclined to argue about using impact as a verb than I would be about using win as a noun.

 

Win's fine as a noun. It's a noun in every AP standings for every sport. You don't get Victories and Losses, it's Wins and Losses. It's not your V-L record, it's your W-L record. I like using victory, too, but win is just fine.

 

This was a standing rule at our place for a while. I don't neccesarily agree with it, but I got in the habit of using "victory" and never really got out of it.

 

Our editor will argue the W and L in your standings page stand for "Won" and "Lost"

 

Oh, and I don't know about your place of employment, but everywhere I've worked, the only acceptable dictionary after the AP stylebook was Merriam-Webster's New College Dictionary.

Dictionary.com doesn't cut it. (Neither does urbandictionary.com. )

 

Fair point, can't argue that. I will say that if an editor were adamant about it, it's not worth going to blows over. If it were my shop, though, using win as a noun wouldn't even be on my radar as something to worry about.

 

There are a lot of words, I've learned in recent months, that apply in some cases, don't in others, will be used by some people and not used by others.

I've also learned, as a result, that it's not worth arguing over on many occasions - mostly because there never will be any change.

 

I'd take it all in context.. "in a 7-6 win" doesn't bother me