bookmaker
noun
book·mak·er
ˈbu̇k-ˌmā-kər 
1
: a printer, binder, or designer of books
2
: a person who determines odds and receives and pays off bets
Examples of bookmaker in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
None of this was any news to professional gamblers or bookmakers, who have long had an instinct for when something is off in the betting markets.
—
David Hill, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
Yet Americans wager tens of billions of dollars every year through offshore bookmakers.
—Danny Funt, New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2025
A couple of years ago, the NCAA released a study finding that 67% of college students living on campus had engaged in sports betting, 41% had bet on their school’s teams, and 35% had used a student bookmaker.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 28 Oct. 2025
Born in the Bronx to an Irish-American mother and a father with Neapolitan roots—a bookmaker and co-owner of a bar on the Throggs Neck peninsula—Ferrara spent his first eight years in the borough’s Morris Park neighborhood.
—Nick Pinkerton, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
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David Hill, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
Yet Americans wager tens of billions of dollars every year through offshore bookmakers.
—Danny Funt, New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2025
A couple of years ago, the NCAA released a study finding that 67% of college students living on campus had engaged in sports betting, 41% had bet on their school’s teams, and 35% had used a student bookmaker.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 28 Oct. 2025
Born in the Bronx to an Irish-American mother and a father with Neapolitan roots—a bookmaker and co-owner of a bar on the Throggs Neck peninsula—Ferrara spent his first eight years in the borough’s Morris Park neighborhood.
—Nick Pinkerton, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bookmaker
Cite this Entry
“Bookmaker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bookmaker. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bookmaker
noun
book·mak·er
ˈbu̇k-ˌmā-kər
: a person who receives and pays off bets
Legal Definition
bookmaker
noun
book·mak·er
ˈbu̇k-ˌmā-kər
: a person who determines odds and receives and pays off bets
called also bookie
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