a roll of the dice
idiom
informal
—used to say that something could have either a good result or a bad result
Opening a new restaurant is always a roll of the dice.
It's a roll of the dice whether we succeed or fail.
Examples of a roll of the dice in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But the Santa Rosa club members aren’t the only ones out there who prefer a roll of the dice to a mouse click.
—
Laurence Miedema, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2024
My problem is that signing up for a lesson through a resort or a health club is such a roll of the dice.
—Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2024
Even daily life can feel like a roll of the dice: With regularity, some Americans go to school, the grocery store, church, a concert, or the movies and get gunned down in a random act of mass murder.
—Brian Klaas, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2024
For now, the death of our planet is a roll of the dice away from certainty.
—Quanta Magazine, 20 Dec. 2023
Every day since the trees were planted has been a roll of the dice.
—Stefanos Chen Bryan Anselm, New York Times, 18 Dec. 2023
Their seats, however, were dictated by a roll of the dice.
—Jasmine Li, Fortune, 13 Sep. 2023
That might be a roll of the dice no media outlet wants to take.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 7 Sep. 2023
In this novel, a psychiatrist decides his daily decisions will be ruled by a roll of the dice.
—The Week Staff, The Week, 22 May 2023
Laurence Miedema, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2024
My problem is that signing up for a lesson through a resort or a health club is such a roll of the dice.
—Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2024
Even daily life can feel like a roll of the dice: With regularity, some Americans go to school, the grocery store, church, a concert, or the movies and get gunned down in a random act of mass murder.
—Brian Klaas, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2024
For now, the death of our planet is a roll of the dice away from certainty.
—Quanta Magazine, 20 Dec. 2023
Every day since the trees were planted has been a roll of the dice.
—Stefanos Chen Bryan Anselm, New York Times, 18 Dec. 2023
Their seats, however, were dictated by a roll of the dice.
—Jasmine Li, Fortune, 13 Sep. 2023
That might be a roll of the dice no media outlet wants to take.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 7 Sep. 2023
In this novel, a psychiatrist decides his daily decisions will be ruled by a roll of the dice.
—The Week Staff, The Week, 22 May 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'a roll of the dice.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near a roll of the dice
Cite this Entry
“A roll of the dice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/a%20roll%20of%20the%20dice. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
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