Wordnet 3.0
NOUN (1)
1.
a victory that is won by incurring terrible losses;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Pyrrhic \Pyr"rhic\, a. [L. pyrrhichius, Gr. ? belonging to the ?
(sc. ?) a kind of war dance.]
1. Of or pertaining to an ancient Greek martial dance. " ye
have the pyrrhic dance as yet." --Byron.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Pros.) Of or pertaining to a pyrrhic, or to pyrrhics;
containing pyrrhic; as, a pyrrhic verse.
[1913 Webster]
Pyrrhic victory [From Pyrrhus, king of Epirus.],
(a) a victory in which the winning side sustains very
heavy losses.
(b) any act supposedly benefitting the actor, for which
the costs outweight the benefits.
[PJC]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Pyrrhic victory
n 1: a victory that is won by incurring terrible losses