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# Word of The Day
- URL: https://goodoil.news/word-of-the-day-6/
- Published: 2024-06-26T18:15:01.000Z
- Updated: 2024-06-27T06:21:24.000Z
- Author: The Editor
- Tags: General

**Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 26, 2024 is:**

**zero-sum** • \\ZEER-oh-SUM\\ • *adjective*  

*Zero-sum* describes something, such as a game, mentality, or situation, in which any gain corresponds directly with an equivalent loss.

// Dividing up the budget is a *zero-sum* game.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zero-sum?ref=goodoil.news)

**Examples:**  

“Domestic migration is *zero-sum*, meaning a loss of college graduates prized by local officials and tax collectors in Washington or San Francisco can be a gain for Kansas City or Orlando.” — Josh Katz, *The New York Times*, 15 May 2023

**Did you know?**  

Does [game theory](https://www.britannica.com/science/game-theory?ref=goodoil.news) sound like fun? It can be—if you are a mathematician or economist who needs to analyze a competitive situation in which the outcome is determined by the choices of the players and chance. Game theory was introduced by mathematician [John von Neumann](https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-von-Neumann?ref=goodoil.news) and economist [Oskar Morgenstern](https://www.britannica.com/money/Oskar-Morgenstern?ref=goodoil.news) in their 1944 book *The Theory of Games and Economic Behavior*. In game theory, a zero-sum game is one, such as chess or checkers, where each player has a clear purpose that is completely opposed to that of the opponent. In economics, a situation is zero-sum if the gains of one party are exactly balanced by the losses of another and no net gain or loss is created; however, such situations in real life are rare.