Wikipedia
A moral victory occurs when a person, team, army or other group loses a confrontation, and yet achieves some other moral gain. This gain might be unrelated to the confrontation in question, and the gain is often considerably less than what would have been accomplished if an actual victory had been achieved.
For example, a sports team that is a heavy underdog and loses narrowly to a superior opponent might claim a moral victory, acquitting themselves well even in defeat. A team that plays fairly and loses to a cheating team might also claim a moral victory in spite of the loss.
Another moral victory can be seen in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, where the character Giles Corey was pressed to death by large stones because he remained silent, neither denying nor confirming the accusations of witchcraft. Because "witches" had all their land and property taken from them, his silence allowed his children to inherit his land when they could not have otherwise.
Others may include scenarios in which a force loses a struggle, but inflicts great losses upon their opponents (the opposite of a Pyrrhic victory. Examples include The Alamo and the Battle of Thermopylae).
Usage examples of "moral victory".
Steed, elated by the showing of the Eden and pleased to have been accepted into Choptank life so quickly, delivered the final judgment on the race: All things considered, we gained a moral victory.
Not that sort of victory which is defined by the capture of pieces of material fastened to sticks, called standards, and of the ground on which the troops had stood and were standing, but a moral victory that convinces the enemy of the moral superiority of his opponent and of his own impotence was gained by the Russians at Borodino.
But turn on the radio in Dade County and you'll realize that, after 36 years, the mere act of annoying Castro is considered a great moral victory.
Though he made it look like a sacrifice, it is difficult to say to whom the moral victory belonged, since I was planning on doing it anyway.
You'd have thought, with that moral victory under his belt, that he'd have gone for the Ferry then and there, while the boys were still excited in their reaction, and indeed for a couple of days I was in a mortal funk that he would do just that.
What good is a physical victory without a spiritual or moral victory?
A moral victory, Joe thought bitterly: All we ever achieve are moral victories.