student asking question

Could you explain more about the expression "win at something"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

To "win at" is a phrasal verb that means to come first in doing something like a competition or a game. Here he says he never "wins at canasta", which means he never is successful in achieving first place in the game canasta. This phrase is normally used when referring to winning a game, however, it can also be used to express earning a reward from winning something. When something is earned, a noun often comes between "win" and "at". Here's a couple of examples: Ex: I won that toy at the carnival. Ex: I can beat her in most games, but she wins at chess every time.

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