parlay

verb

par·lay | \ ˈpär-ˌlā

, -lē

parlayed; parlaying; parlays

Definition of parlay

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to bet in a parlay

2a : 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.

parlay

noun

Definition of parlay (Entry 2 of 2)

: 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

Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about parlay

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Did You Know?

Verb

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."

Examples of parlay in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Guards also regularly parlay their security experience into better-paying jobs in fields such as police work. — Jc Reindl, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit's rebound brings surge in downtown security jobs," 14 June 2018 John Renaldi, a former Motorola Mobility vice president, parlayed his own experience losing sight of his then-six-year old into co-founding Jiobit. — Jennifer Jolly, USA TODAY, "No more 'screenagers' — best ways to keep tabs on kids without giving them a smartphone," 13 June 2018 Brazilian Daniel Marques hoped to parlay his Dreamer work permit into a job with Bank of America Corp. — Kartikay Mehrotra, Bloomberg.com, "BofA Sued by DACA Recipient After Being Denied Advisory Job," 3 May 2018 America's most profane and short-lived White House communications director is plotting his next moves, hoping to parlay those 11 days of notoriety into a book, a possible TV show and talking-head ubiquity. — Rich Cohen, The Hollywood Reporter, "One F—ing Awesome Night Out With The Mooch in New York," 16 Apr. 2018 And the Kangaroos on Saturday were hoping to parlay that into a midseason win streak. — kansascity, "UMKC can’t keep up with Grand Canyon," 20 Jan. 2018 That exemption led to broader sports betting legislation passed in 2009 and Delaware’s NFL parlay wagering system, which gave the state a head start in offering more wagers. — Washington Post, "Place your bets: Delaware takes sports wagers, others close," 5 June 2018 In the following decades, Hanoi allowed private enterprise and repaired ties with Washington, embraced trade pacts and parlayed an inexpensive labor force to attract overseas capital. — Niharika Mandhana, WSJ, "At Trump-Kim Summit, Host Vietnam Blazes Trail for North Korea," 23 Feb. 2019 The priests then parlayed that trust into leverage against children, who were afraid to say no to an authority figure trusted by their parents. — Fox News, "Siblings prevalent among the victims of predator priests," 28 Aug. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Everyone shows up for a parlay, and when Jon does his show-and-tell bit with the wight, Cersei pretends to be properly spooked. — Ineye Komonibo, Marie Claire, "This Is How Season 7 of 'Game of Thrones' Ended," 13 Apr. 2019 Throughout the storyline, attempts at peacemaking, cooperation, and parlays are met again and again with bloodshed, betrayal, and cyclical violence. — Aja Romano, Vox, "In the era of Trump and apocalyptic change, Hopepunk is a storytelling template for #resistance — and hanging onto your humanity at all costs.," 27 Dec. 2018 Right after the presidents’ dinnertime parlay, Chinese officials said the two sides agreed to put tariffs in abeyance to negotiate a settlement but offered few other details then and in the days since. — WSJ, "China Breaks Its Silence on 90-Day U.S. Tariff Truce," 5 Dec. 2018 In 2005, a bill winding down Sports Action was passed, and the last parlays were bet in 2007. — Andrew Greif, OregonLive.com, "Among Oregon athletic directors, sports betting's potential return sparks hope and concern," 24 May 2018 Johnson, 41, wanted a two-team parlay with the A’s and White Sox. — Ed Barkowitz, Philly.com, "Crazy day at Atlantic City sportsbook as Mark Wahlberg bets the Eagles, Patriots and … Browns," 28 June 2018 Delaware has offered limited NFL parlay wagering since 2009. — Ed Barkowitz, Philly.com, "Why haven't Pa. casinos filed for sports-betting permission yet? Could be 10 million reasons," 4 June 2018 Delaware has offered parlay NFL wagering via partial exemption under PASAP for about a decade. — A.j. Perez, USA TODAY, "Ready to wager? Head to Delaware, which becomes first new state to offer betting Tuesday," 31 May 2018 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

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.