parlay

verb par·lay \ ˈpär-ˌlā , -lē \

|Updated on: 16 Jun 2018

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of parlay

transitive verb

1 : to bet in a parlay

2 a : to exploit successfully

He hoped to parlay his basketball skills into a college scholarship.

b : to increase or otherwise transform into something of much greater value

She parlayed $5,000 and years of hard work into a multimillion-dollar company.

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See parlay defined for kids

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Recent Examples of parlay from the Web

Anthony Bourdain, the chef and author who parlayed his love of food, taste for adventure and gifts as a raconteur into television stardom, was found dead Friday in a hotel room in France of an apparent suicide, CNN said.

— keach hagey and melanie grayce west, WSJ, "Anthony Bourdain, CNN TV Host, Is Found Dead in Apparent Suicide," 8 June 2018
But parlaying that success into postseason hardware has been an exercise in frustration.

— edward lee, baltimoresun.com, "Navy men’s lacrosse coach Rick Sowell: Failing to reach Patriot League title game is ‘going to stick in our craw’," 5 June 2018
Still, even players with sparkling amateur careers like Spieth's aren't surefire bets to parlay that success into similar triumphs on the professional level.

— daniel rapaport, SI.com, "Best Masters Memories From the Past 20 Years: No. 3 - Jordan Spieth's Record Performance," 2 Apr. 2018
Now, the 6-foot-5, 344-pounder has parlayed that late-season surge into an opportunity to compete for a starting job.

— tom green, AL.com, "What makes Auburn's Brodarious Hamm a 'very special talent' on offensive line? 'He's a mauler'," 12 Mar. 2018
Here are a few favorites: •Goldwater's salsa: For the past two decades, the family of the late Sen. Barry Goldwater has parlayed his political pedigree and passion for cooking into a line of salsas that satisfy our cravings for fiery foods.

— azcentral, "From climate to fry bread, 125 reasons to love Arizona," 15 May 2015
There’s our lovable lead Renee, who parlays her newfound self-esteem into landing a job at the front desk of Lily LeClaire, a high-end fashion brand that typically only hires Instagram models.

— jill gutowitz, Glamour, "Amy Schumer's New Movie Isn't About Her Body—It’s About the Danger of Self-Loathing," 19 Apr. 2018
Hosmer picked the right time to have his best season, parlaying his 2017 numbers into an eight-year, $144-million deal with the Padres, pushing incumbent first baseman Wil Myers to the outfield.

— houston mitchell, latimes.com, "Dodgers Dugout: Will Matt Kemp make the Dodger roster?," 9 Mar. 2018
The launch marks the first time a luxury hotel chain has parlayed its brand to the sea, according to the company.

— lindsay silberman, Town & Country, "Ritz-Carlton Announces Its First-Ever Cruise Line," 22 June 2017

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

Did You Know?

If you're the gambling type, you may already know that parlay can also be used as a noun describing a series of bets in which a person places a bet, then puts the original stake of money and all of its winnings on new wagers. But you might not know that parlay represents a modified spelling of the French name for such bets: paroli. You might also be unaware that the original French word is still occasionally used in English with the same meaning as the noun parlay. Be careful not to mix up parlay with the similar word parley, meaning "to discuss terms with an enemy." Although the spellings are very close, parley comes from the Latin word for "speech."

Origin and Etymology of parlay

French paroli, noun, parlay, from Italian dialect, plural of parolo, perhaps from paro equal, from Latin par

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1828

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Game Terms

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

parlay

noun

Definition of parlay

: a series of two or more bets so set up in advance that the original stake plus its winnings are risked on the successive wagers; broadly : the fresh risking of an original stake together with its winnings

Recent Examples of parlay from the Web

In Delaware, that was a very niche product of parlay-style wagering on N.F.L. football, Ms. Slane said.

— New York Times, "Delaware Kicks Off Full-Scale Sports Betting, a First Outside of Nevada," 5 June 2018
Geisenberger notes, however, that while the average net take on parlay football bets has been about 25 percent, the average win on head-to-head, single-game bets is about five or six percent.

— randall chase, Houston Chronicle, "Delaware casinos to begin sports betting next week," 31 May 2018
Delaware also is close to offering full sports betting, after offering NFL parlay cards for nearly 10 years, while Pennsylvania appears to be at least several months away.

— ed barkowitz, Philly.com, "Former Revel Casino bringing in heavy hitter to run its sportsbook," 29 May 2018
Starting in 1989, proceeds from Oregon's NFL parlay game Sports Action began to flow to athletic departments from Portland to Ashland and Monmouth to La Grande.

— andrew greif, OregonLive.com, "Among Oregon athletic directors, sports betting's potential return sparks hope and concern," 24 May 2018
In fact, the British and Creeks believed Wayne had murdered a parlay party, violating the rules of warfare.

— kathleen duval, WSJ, "‘Unlikely General’ Review: He Opened the Way West," 15 May 2018
And count the Oregon Lottery as keenly interested in making that happen for the first time since 2007, when the NFL parlay game Sports Action ended after 18 years while the state courted NCAA championship events.

— sean meagher, OregonLive.com, "Boston Celtics vs Cleveland Cavaliers Game 2 score, TV channel, how to watch live stream," 15 May 2018
The federal courts, however, thwarted that effort, although the state has allowed parlays on NFL games since 2009.

— a.j. perez, USA TODAY, "States where sports betting may be ready in time for NFL season," 14 May 2018
Ever the provocateur—this is the man who released an ad with a woman's pubis artfully sculpted into a G for Gucci—Tom Ford is giving a new sly wink, quietly shocking Ford fans taking a parlay over to his website.

— kerry pieri, Harper's BAZAAR, "Is the Crack Back?," 23 June 2014