Moral victory

A moral victory is when someone or something doesn't win or succeed the way that they had hoped or planned, but they still get something important out of the experience. For example, if someone is competing in a spelling bee but doesn't win, they might still feel like they achieved something because they put in a lot of hard work and did their best. Even though they didn't "win" in a traditional sense, the feeling of pride and accomplishment that comes from those hard efforts might be the real victory.