English

Verb

pwn ‎(third-person singular simple present pwns, present participle pwning, simple past and past participle pwned or pwnd or pwnt)

1. (Internet slang, online gaming, originally leet, transitive, intransitive) To own, to defeat or dominate (someone or something, especially a game or someone playing a game).
   • 1999 August 5, Quaestor, “Re: [SP] So..the first victim of the Evil/Hero System”, in rec.games.computer.ultima.online, Usenet, retrieved 2016-09-23, message-ID <37AA8154.D77E6EB8@Skara.Brae>:

     2nd guard: "Yeah, shiiit! I PWNED YO @zz!"

   • 2001, Edward Glamkowski, in alt.games.diablo2

     Otherwise I use fury as my normal attack. Fury completely pwns!

   • 2003, James Grahame, in alt.games.everquest

     When you get to the Temple of Marr, look very closely at the vases at zone-in and see if you can find the picture where Mith Marr "pwns" someone.

   • 2004, Bronney Hui, in alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia

     My Trident pwns the Cirrus Logics!

   • 2005, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

     NOOBZ STILL R NOT PWNED. CONTINUE PWNERSHIP UNTIL ALL NOOBZ R PWNED.

Noun

pwn ‎(uncountable)

1. (Internet, slang, originally leetspeak) Triumph, defeat, victory. Often exclaimed after an opponent in a video game is defeated.

Derived terms

• pwnage

References

1. 1 2 pwn in Cambridge English Dictionary
2. 1 2 3 4 PC Magazine Encyclopedia: Pronounced "pone," "pwen," "pawn" or "pun,"...
3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 “pwn” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
4. ↑ Connie Eble, in Julie Coleman (ed.), Global English Slang: Methodologies and Perspectives (2014, ISBN 131793475X): "own/pwn (pronounced either on or pon) 'to dominate an opponent, often in a video game'"
5. ↑ Bonnie Nardi, My Life as a Night Elf Priest: An Anthropological Account (ISBN 0472026712), page 16: "In PvP, players enjoy “pwning” opponents, that is, defeating them, in heated contests. The term pwn (pronounced “pone”) comes from own, slang for defeat, and is said to have originated when a player mistakenly typed a “p” instead of an “o,” ..."