Pyrrhic is an adjective that means ‘achieved at an excessive cost.’

The origin of the word pyrrhic comes Pyrrhus (PIER hoos) from an Ancient king of a region of Greece called Epirus. This king’s army defeated the Romans in a key battle in 279 BC, but sustained heavy losses. Our word of the day alludes to this.

My daughter’s win at the spelling bee may have been a pyrrhic victory. She won the contest, but lost a few friends out of envy.