jackpot

noun

jack·pot | \ ˈjak-ˌpät

Definition of jackpot

1a : the top prize in a game or contest (such as a lottery) that is typically a large fund of money formed by the accumulation of unwon prizes

b(1) : a hand or game of draw poker in which a pair of jacks or better is required to open

(2) : a large pot (as in poker) formed by the accumulation of stakes from previous play

c(1) : a combination on a slot machine that wins a top prize or all the coins available for paying out

(2) : the sum so won

2 : an impressive often unexpected success or reward

3 chiefly Western US : a tight spot : jam

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Examples of jackpot in a Sentence

The lottery jackpot is up to one million dollars. a wily dude who managed to get himself out of one jackpot after another

Recent Examples on the Web That's putting it lightly, as the chances of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are one in 302.5 million. — Miriam Marini, Detroit Free Press, "$1B Mega Millions jackpot winner bought ticket at Kroger's Novi location," 25 Jan. 2021 The odds of winning the jackpot were 1 in 302,575,350, according to Mega Millions. — Maria Cramer, BostonGlobe.com, "$1 billion lottery prize ticket was sold in Michigan," 23 Jan. 2021 Only two lottery prizes in the U.S. have been larger than Friday's jackpot. — Ed White, Chron, "Someone just won Mega Millions' $1.05 billion lottery jackpot," 23 Jan. 2021 Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot is expected to be the third largest in U.S. lottery history. — oregonlive, "No big winner yet: Mega Millions closes in on $1 billion; Powerball now at $730 million," 20 Jan. 2021 It's been nearly two years since a lottery jackpot has grown so large. — CBS News, "Massive Mega Millions jackpot grows after no winner," 17 Jan. 2021 The largest lottery jackpot won in the United States was a Powerball worth $1.586 billion in January of 2016. — NBC News, "Powerball jackpot increases to $730 million, Mega Millions rises to $850 million," 17 Jan. 2021 At the Giant in Shaw, the crowd by the deli included people who looked old enough to meet the age cutoff and people who looked young enough to be students—all hoping to strike the vaccine jackpot. — Jacob Stern, The Atlantic, "D.C.’s Vaccine Jackpots Are Getting Out of Control," 13 Jan. 2021 Los Alamitos offers a traditional $2 Pick Six with a 70-30 split and there are no jackpot provisions. — John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, "Horse racing newsletter: Happy birthday to all the horses," 1 Jan. 2021

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