gamble

verb gam·ble \ ˈgam-bəl \

|Updated on: 15 Jul 2018

Examples: gamble in a Sentence

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 (see contingency 1) : take a chance

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

For that same period, Mokena received video gambling tax revenue from Gas N Wash of a bit more than $96,600, according to the state.

— mike nolan, Daily Southtown, "Annexation hearing scheduled for gas station that wants 24/7 gambling," 4 July 2018
New Jersey could see an uptick in annual revenue to the tune of about $9 billion with sports gambling legalized, the New York Post reported.

— kaitlyn schallhorn, Fox News, "Supreme Court to tackle immigration, voting rights, unions: A look at major cases on justices' agenda," 27 June 2018
Here are 11 of the biggest scandals in sports gambling history. 1.

— chris chase, For The Win, "11 biggest scandals in sports gambling history," 16 May 2018
Fertitta said that could happen, although probably not in Las Vegas, given the long history of sports gambling there.

— david barron, San Antonio Express-News, "Fertitta Gambling," 15 May 2018
The National Basketball Association and National Football League called for a federal framework that would apply to all states moving forward with sports gambling legislation.

— NBC News, "As states race to launch sports betting, calls grow for Congress to protect games' integrity," 14 May 2018
The United States Supreme Court on Monday ruled a ban on sports gambling unconstitutional, and Churchill Downs has already begun to reap the benefits.

— jake lourim, The Courier-Journal, "Churchill Downs stock rises after Supreme Court gambling decision," 14 May 2018
Fertitta said that could happen, although probably not in Las Vegas, given the long history of sports gambling there.

— david barron, Houston Chronicle, "Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta expects to get double the benefit on sports betting," 14 May 2018
Live music, kids rides, games, raffles, gambling tent, food, beer garden and more.

— luann gibbs, Cincinnati.com, "Summer festivals guide 2018," 21 June 2018

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

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

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

With all the tough decisions involved in narrowing a list of the nation’s best returning players down to 100, adding incoming freshmen to the list can be a gamble—which is why none made our 2018 preseason rankings.

— joan niesen, SI.com, "Five True Freshmen Who Could Make an Instant Impact This Fall," 22 June 2018
The biggest gamble in deregulating financial institutions is that banks could once again load up on highly leveraged, risky assets, precipitating another credit crisis.

— talmon joseph smith, The New Republic, "How Democrats Are Helping Trump Dismantle Dodd-Frank," 1 Mar. 2018
That’s a gamble, given that production budgets for AAA games routinely top $100 million.

— chris morris, Fortune, "Feb. 22, 2019 Could Be the Video Game Industry’s Most Explosive Day Ever. Here's Why," 13 June 2018
For each leader, the meeting represents a major gamble, and its outcome will be dissected around the globe for a sense of whether one of the world’s greatest security threats -- Kim’s nuclear arsenal -- can be eliminated.

— david tweed, Bloomberg.com, "Trump, Kim Voice Optimism Over Path to Peace as Summit Opens," 12 June 2018
Newsletter Sign-up The gamble, in short, is that this is a different time because the young Mr. Kim rather than his father or grandfather is running the show in Pyongyang.

— gerald f. seib, WSJ, "The Risky Calculus of the Trump-Kim Embrace," 12 June 2018
Travelers can take their pick of one of the city's multiple hotels, gamble at local casinos, and have fun at the beaches along Lake Michigan.

— tatiana walk-morris, Chicago Reader, "From the west side to the world: Austin travel agent arranges global adventures—and lists her favorite Midwestern trips," 30 May 2018
Government figures show that 80 percent of Australians gamble, the highest percentage of any country (Singapore is second, Ireland third) although that figure includes those who might bet once a year on a horse race or play the lottery.

— dennis passa, Fox News, "Gambling expert calls for WADA-style monitoring of athletes," 23 May 2018
An aggressive mid-season trade for Blake Griffin that will in all likelihood cost Detroit its first-round pick stands in hindsight as a shortsighted gamble, with the injury-prone star due upwards of $142 million through the 2021–22 season.

— jeremy woo, SI.com, "Stan Van Gundy and the Death of Dual-Leadership Structures," 7 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of gamble

noun derivative of ¹gamble

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1823

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

gamble Synonyms

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