gamble

verb gam·ble \ ˈgam-bəl \

Definition of gamble

gambled; gambling play \ˈgam-b(ə-)liŋ\

intransitive verb

1 a :to play a game for money or property

b :to bet on an uncertain outcome

2 :to stake something on a contingency :take a chance (see contingency 2)

transitive verb

1 :to risk by gambling :wager

2 :venture, hazard

—

gambler

play \ˈgam-blər\ noun

See gamble defined for English-language learners

See gamble defined for kids

Examples of gamble in a Sentence

He's been drinking and gambling heavily.
He would often gamble hundreds of dollars on a hand of poker.
The mayor is gambling with the city's future.
people who lost money gambling in the stock market
The mayor is gambling that the new policies will help rather than hurt the city.

Recent Examples of gamble from the Web

Gambling 911 lists the Main Event on 96th (8932 E. 96th St., Fishers) and all area Hooters locations (25 W. Georgia St.; 6426 E. 82nd St.; 7551 U.S. 31 S.).

— scott horner, Indianapolis Star, "Where you can watch the Mayweather-McGregor fight in Indianapolis," 24 Aug. 2017
Two men gambling at Horseshoe Casino Baltimore in January were lured by a pair of women to a house in South Baltimore and attacked by an armed robber, prosecutors said.

— tim prudente, baltimoresun.com, "Man convicted in armed robbery of two men lured by women at Horseshoe Casino," 23 Aug. 2017
Recessions, coupled with readers’ changing habits, prodded media companies to gamble on a digital future unencumbered by the clunky apparatus of publishing on paper.

— franklin foer, The Atlantic, "When Silicon Valley Took Over Journalism," 8 Aug. 2017
A Southern Indiana man is accused by prosecutors of defrauding people by getting them to invest in his livestock brokerage business, then gambling with the money instead of buying calves.

— sarah brookbank, Cincinnati.com, "Man's livestock brokerage business a load of bull, prosecutors say," 14 July 2017
Food, funnel cakes, beer, bid 'n' buy, flea market, rides, kiddy games, games of chance, gambling tent, live music.

— rasputin todd, Cincinnati.com, "Things to do this week: July 11-16," 10 July 2017
That puts significant pressure on the company to gamble with the iPhone 8 and go big on a design upheaval—

— sarah rense, Esquire, "We're Hearing Good Things About the iPhone 8," 6 July 2017
After just one home game, that gamble already is paying off.

— tom haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Stephen Vogt certainly liked the way the ball carried at Miller Park in his Brewers debut," 30 June 2017
That stance is essentially this: Gambling is bad, mmmmmkay?

— andy staples, SI.com, "The NCAA needs to start planning for a world where sports betting is widely legal," 30 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gamble.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of gamble

probably back-formation from gambler, perhaps alteration (by dissimilation, or substitution of the frequentative suffix -le) of early Modern English gamner "player in a game," from gamen "to play" (going back to Middle English gamenen, going back to Old English gamenian, derivative of gamen ¹game) + -er ²-er

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1757

See Words from the same year

gamble Synonyms

Synonyms

bet, go, lay, play, put, stake, wager

Related Words

bid, offer; adventure, chance, hazard, speculate, venture; endanger, imperil, jeopardize

gamble

noun

Definition of gamble

1 a :an act having an element of risk

b :something chancy

2 :the playing of a game of chance for stakes

See gamble defined for English-language learners

Examples of gamble in a Sentence

Starting her own business was a gamble, but it paid off.
She thought about starting her own business, but she decided it was too much of a gamble.

Recent Examples of gamble from the Web

College and career training schools are essentially a gamble.

— shahien nasiripour, Bloomberg.com, "This Coding School Wants Graduates to Share Their Income," 15 Aug. 2017
By affirming to their viewers that the president is morally bankrupt, the two NBC comedians took a big gamble.

— sophie gilbert, The Atlantic, "‘He Is Not a President’," 15 Aug. 2017
Everything about the enormous Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) was a gamble, says LCLS Director Mike Dunne.

— jonathon keats, Discover Magazine, "The Atomic Movie Machine," 14 Aug. 2017
If only football could be played free of catastrophic consequences, free of the head-banging that has contributed to so much brain damage, free of the apprehension that the men who play the game are taking a terrible gamble.

— tim sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "Accepting risk is part of football's bargain | Tim Sullivan," 8 Aug. 2017
Because of that, some see Shehbaz Sharif’s ascent to the prime minister post as being a bit of a gamble.

— mehreen zahra-malik, New York Times, "Ousted Pakistan Leader Passes Baton to Brother, Shehbaz Sharif," 29 July 2017
Calling a special session is a huge political gamble for Abbott.

— john daniel davidson, National Review, "Greg Abbott’s Big Gamble," 25 July 2017
One conservative gambit—to repeal Obamacare and worry about replacing it later—is a reckless gamble that would inflict crippling uncertainty on the health industry and those who rely on it.

— The Economist, "Revive, don’t repealThree steps to fix Obamacare," 20 July 2017
The Republican gamble to stiff-arm Merrick Garland and hold open Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat appears to have hit the jackpot.

— john yoo, WSJ, "Gorsuch Makes a Mark on the Court," 29 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of gamble

noun derivative of ¹gamble

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1823

See Words from the same year

gamble Synonyms

Synonyms

adventure, chance, crapshoot, enterprise, flier (also flyer), flutter [chiefly British], speculation, throw, venture

Antonyms

sure thing

Related Words

bet, hazard, stake, wager; liberty; dark horse, long shot, play

Other Game Terms

bezique, carom, convention, crap, euchre, gambit, monte, parlay, tierce

GAMBLE Defined for English Language Learners

gamble

verb

Definition of gamble for English Language Learners

: to play a game in which you can win or lose money or possessions : to bet money or other valuable things
: to risk losing (an amount of money) in a game or bet
: to risk losing (something valuable or important) in order to do or achieve something

gamble

noun

Definition of gamble for English Language Learners

: something that could produce a desired result or a bad or unpleasant result

GAMBLE Defined for Kids

gamble

verb gam·ble \ ˈgam-bəl \

Definition of gamble for Students

gambled; gambling

1 :to play a game in which something (as money) can be won or lost :bet

2 :to take a chance

I gambled on not being seen.

—

gambler

\ˈgam-blər\ noun

gamble

noun

Definition of gamble for Students

:something that could produce a good or bad result :risk Starting a business can be a gamble.

Law Dictionary

gamble

verb gam·ble \ ˈgam-bəl \

legal Definition of gamble

gambled; gambling

intransitive verb

:to risk something of value for the chance of winning a prize

transitive verb

:to risk (something) for the chance of winning a prize

—

gambler

play \-blər\ noun

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gamble

Definition of gamble

Examples of gamble in a Sentence

Recent Examples of gamble from the Web

Origin and Etymology of gamble

gamble Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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Other Game Terms

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GAMBLE Defined for English Language Learners

gamble

Definition of gamble for English Language Learners

gamble

Definition of gamble for English Language Learners

GAMBLE Defined for Kids

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gamble

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gamble

legal Definition of gamble

gambler

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