Although they lost, the minority claimed the vote as a 'moral victory' since they had won the support of so many former opponents.
The company won the lawsuit, but it was a 'Pyrrhic victory' because of all the bad publicity they received during the trial.
She was equally gracious 'in victory' and in defeat. [=she was gracious when she won and when she lost]
(..) Yet he would let this Orc pack cross our borders and kill our prisoners. It is not our fight. It is our fight. It will not end here. With every victory, this evil will grow. If your father has his way, we will do nothing. We will hide within our walls... ...live our lives away from the light... (..)2013 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug