What does won mean?
Won is most often the irregular past tense and past participle of win. It marks victory or successful competition: a person or team won a match, election, race, or award. It can also function as a participle in passive constructions, as in “The prize was won by a young musician,” where the result of an earlier contest is emphasized. In a separate and historically unrelated sense, won names the basic monetary unit of South Korea, written ₩; amounts are commonly given with the word itself, as in “five thousand won,” and the form does not change in the plural. The two senses should not be confused merely because they look alike. For learners, won is especially useful as a reminder that English verbs often preserve older irregular forms rather than adding -ed. Context nearly always resolves the meaning: references to competition point to the verb, while prices, currency, and money point to the noun.
The past tense and past participle of win, used to state that someone or something gained victory, success, or possession.
"The visiting team won the final match."
Won is an irregular form; use winning for the present participle.
The basic monetary unit of South Korea, equal to 100 jeon and written with the symbol ₩.
"She paid 15,000 won for the meal."
The form is unchanged when pluralized: one won, two won.
The currency name is invariant in number.
"The machine dispenses five-hundred-won coins."
“Won” is both a past tense and South Korea’s currency unit—two meanings with completely different histories.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of won
Won is the irregular past tense and past participle of win, from Old English winnan, “to strive, fight, or contend”; the modern form reflects grammatical developments in Old and Middle English rather than a regular -ed ending. Its related forms winner, winning, and winnable continue the same English word family. The monetary sense has a separate origin, borrowed from the Korean won (원), a name ultimately based on Chinese yuan (圓), meaning “round” or “circle.”
How won is actually used
As a verb, won is standard in British and American English and is used as the past tense or past participle; the present participle is winning. As a currency term, “won” is used in international English, while “Korean won” can provide additional clarity. The monetary unit does not change in the plural.
Easily confused with won
“One” is the cardinal number, whereas “won” is the past tense of “win” or the name of South Korea’s currency unit.