gaming

1 of 2

noun

gam·​ing ˈgā-miŋ 

1

: the practice or activity of playing games for stakes : gambling

After a six-decade absence, casino gaming makes its return next month to this Southern Indiana valley, once famous for luxury resorts that attracted the nation's elite.

—Michael Rubino

In the same way, casino owners almost never refer to "gambling," which brings to mind damp basements and dice, but always "gaming," which suggests Whist or Scrabble enjoyed in front of a crackling fireplace.

—Wayne Curtis

—often used before another noun

the gaming industry

2

: the practice or activity of playing games (such as board games, card games, or video games)

online/mobile/PC gaming

When most people think of computer gaming, they envision some things that aren't exactly politically correct. Things like blazing lasers, spattering blood and beheaded aliens. However, Internet gaming really does offer something for everyone.

—Kim Komando

—often used before another noun

You can get curved gaming monitors too, for added immersion in certain games.

—Jon Martindale

After looking through the gaming options, we decided on Quick Draw—a game that gives one participant a word to draw, while the other callers try to guess what the word is.

—Becca Miller

gaming

2 of 2

present participle of game entry 3

Examples of gaming in a Sentence

Noun

He does a lot of gaming online.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The fun clicky clack sound of this backlit mechanical gaming keyboard is a hit with any gamer. — Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026

Tyler Sanders, the owner of retro gaming store Steel Collectibles in Kennesaw, has many memories of lining up outside, sometimes in the cold, to get the latest console or game. — Olivia Wakim, AJC.com, 2 Nov. 2026

Luke Rosedahl, assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering at Florida Atlantic University, explored this question through VR gaming technology. — Emily Kwong, NPR, 2 Nov. 2026

Like the few TVs that have offered 8K resolution (and since moved away from that target), just a few gaming monitors have exceeded 4K, and those under limited circumstances, such as ultrawide displays like the Alienware 39 5K OLED. — Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 1 Nov. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

game entry 1 or game entry 3 + -ing entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1501, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing gaming

• tabletop gaming

Rhymes for gaming

• aiming
• blaming
• claiming
• flaming
• framing
• laming
• maiming
• naming
• shaming
• taming
• declaiming
• defaming

Kids Definition

gaming

noun

gam·​ing

ˈgā-miŋ

1

: the practice of gambling

2

: the acting out of a situation (as war) for training or testing

3

: the playing of video games