gambling

noun

gam·​bling ˈgam-b(ə-)liŋ 

: the practice or activity of betting : the practice of risking money or other stakes in a game or bet

illegal gambling

compulsive gambling

Then, within the past 18 months, after the explosion in Internet gambling … and the cable TV debut of the World Poker Tour, the game took off again.

—Walter Kirn

—often used before another noun

a gambling game

gambling regulations

a gambling empire

Examples of gambling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To many critics, that sounds like a high-tech form of lowbrow gambling, a new way to bring the vices of Vegas right to your phone. — Max Raskin, Washington Post, 28 June 2026

With competition from casinos and video gambling at bars across the state, horse racing has been fading. — Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 27 June 2026

However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families. — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 30 June 2026

The Puritans regarded the Cavalier lifestyle, inherited from Charles’s court, as a feckless round of feasting, gambling, and wenching. — James Traub, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1700, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing gambling

• anti-gambling

Rhymes for gambling

• ambling
• scrambling
• shambling