gamble

verb

gam·ble | \ ˈgam-bəl

gambled; gambling\ ˈgam-b(ə-)liŋ

Definition of gamble

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1a : to play a game for money or property

b : to bet on an uncertain outcome

2 : to stake something on a contingency (see contingency sense 1) : take a chance

transitive verb

1 : to risk by gambling : wager

2 : venture, hazard

gamble

noun

Definition of gamble (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : an act having an element of risk

b : something chancy

2 : the playing of a game of chance for stakes

Other Words from gamble Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about gamble

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Synonyms & Antonyms for gamble

Synonyms: Verb

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

Synonyms: Noun

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

Antonyms: Noun

sure thing

Examples of gamble in a Sentence

Verb

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.

Noun

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 on the Web: Verb

After costly problems with its newest engine, the engine supplier isn’t willing to gamble future revenues on a likely risky proposition. — Paul Page, WSJ, "Today’s Logistics Report: Economy’s Growth Track; Retrenching Retailers; Tesla Goes Online," 1 Mar. 2019 And of the male athletes who had gambled on sports, 13 percent had wagered on specific game situations with in-game bets. — David Porter, The Seattle Times, "Easier gambling has sports worried about fighting the fix," 17 Sep. 2018 Despite PASPA’s existence, the American Gaming Association (AGA) estimates at least $150 billion a year is gambled on sports in the U.S. and 97% of that amount was bet illegally. — A.j. Perez, USA TODAY, "What it means: Supreme Court strikes down PASPA law that limited sports betting," 14 May 2018 The armed forces gambled on Operation Watchtower, a joint air-land-sea operation in the Solomon Islands, designed to land U.S. Marines and Army troops to evict the Japanese and set up airbases. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Explorers Have Found the Wreckage of the Sunken World War II Aircraft Carrier USS Wasp," 14 Mar. 2019 Seattle could also gamble on Colome’s value increasing at the MLB trade deadline in 2019. — Ryan Divish, The Seattle Times, "Analysis: What does Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto mean about a ‘step back’ in 2019?," 21 Nov. 2018 This leads to a risk-taking kind of life: People are more likely to gamble, play the odds, use drugs or drink, commit crimes. — Scott Timberg, Vox, "How music has responded to a decade of economic inequality," 30 July 2018 Some see shielding investors from harm as their job; others think people should be free to gamble if this poses no wider risk. — The Economist, "Regulating virtual currencies and ICOs," 26 Apr. 2018 In the event Cleveland alters their philosophy and decides to cover Turner more honestly, the next logical option to gamble off would be Young. — J. Michael, Indianapolis Star, "Insider: What to watch in tonight's Pacers-Cavs playoff game," 18 Apr. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

But the analysts also say the companies represent an opportunity to capitalize on potentially explosive growth for investors who are willing to take a gamble. — Mike Rogoway, oregonlive.com, "Behind Portland’s blockbuster marijuana deal: a Russian billionaire, cannabis consolidation," 9 June 2019 The Raptors took a gamble by promoting assistant Nick Nurse to replace Casey. — Terry Pluto, cleveland.com, "No longer haunted by 23: Former Cavaliers GM Wayne Embry enjoying NBA Finals with Toronto Raptors – Terry Pluto," 8 June 2019 Riess, who reportedly loves to gamble, stopped at different casinos before driving to Ft. — CBS News, "Lois Riess, grandmother and alleged killer of 2, captured," 20 Apr. 2018 Villa also need £40m in order to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations, as their business model was based on the gamble that they would get promoted to the Premier League. — SI.com, "Cash-Strapped Aston Villa Could Owe John Terry Over Half a Million Pounds in Wages," 20 June 2018 The calculated gamble: The move will help the Marlboro maker keep up with a quickly changing market. — Jennifer Maloney And Dana Mattioli, WSJ, "Why Marlboro Maker Bet on Juul, the Vaping Upstart Aiming to Kill Cigarettes," 23 Mar. 2019 The AfD’s performance also showed that the CSU’s gamble — to veer to the right on immigration — might not have totally paid off. — Jen Kirby, Vox, "German leader Angela Merkel was just dealt a major political blow," 15 Oct. 2018 The gamble paid off, giving the company a capitalization of $26.5 billion by the end of the day and making billions for the top five shareholders. — Hallie Detrick, Fortune, "Did the IPO Market Seem White-Hot Over the Last 6 Months? You're Right, It Was," 2 July 2018 Then in 1997, a decade and a half after DeLorean went bust, Wynne took a gamble. — Matt Blitz, Popular Mechanics, "Inside the Car Company That's Resurrecting the DeLorean," 18 Jan. 2019

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.

History and Etymology for gamble

Verb

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 game entry 1) + -er -er entry 2