parlay

1 of 2

verb

par·​lay ˈpär-ˌlā How to pronounce parlay (audio) -lē How to pronounce parlay (audio)
parlayed; parlaying; parlays

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.

parlay

2 of 2

noun

: 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?

In gambling, parlay is used for 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. The noun comes from the French name for such bets: paroli. Be careful not to mix up the verb parlay with the similar word parley, meaning "to speak with another or to confer."

Examples of parlay in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Third-grader Ella Piazza parlayed determination and good luck to gain a brief but memorable audience with Swift — via the shoulders of shirtless Jason Kelce — at the Kansas City Chiefs-Buffalo Bills playoff game over the weekend. David K. Li, NBC News, 23 Jan. 2024 Other moguls have parlayed their entertainment success into highly profitable business ventures. Rohit Arora, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 Poor Things led the charge, parlaying its 11 nominations to another 900 screens and $24 million in total box office (up from $20 million before the nominations). Joe Reid, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2024 Lee has cleverly parlayed his rise from obscurity and his ability to work on both sides of the Pacific into a prolific development and production nexus with greenlighting power. Patrick Frater, Variety, 26 Jan. 2024 Outside of her relationship, the 24-year-old continued to elevate her superstar status throughout 2023 and Ice Spice parlayed her success into four Grammy nominations and another four Hot 100 top 10 hits in the calendar year. Michael Saponara, Billboard, 24 Jan. 2024 Yet for every Michael Jordan and John Elway who parlayed their success into the business world, there are many more tragic stories of gifted athletes blowing it all, no matter the sport. Bycarl Nassib, Fortune, 22 Dec. 2023 In 2024 Toyota will try to parlay an industry-wide slowdown of pure electric vehicle production into a larger market share for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles or PHEVs. Brooke Crothers, Forbes, 11 Feb. 2024 Now, one of those players is looking to parlay a career year into a payday that could leave the Dolphins with a big hole in the middle of the defense. Daniel Oyefusi, Miami Herald, 11 Feb. 2024
Noun
Chiefs-Ravens same game parlay for the AFC championship Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson anytime TD, Travis Kelce under 62.5 receiving yards, Marquez Valdes-Scantling over 16.5 receiving yards (+525). Jon Hoefling, USA TODAY, 28 Jan. 2024 Here are our picks for a same-game parlay that could net you some serious cash. Jon Hoefling, USA TODAY, 28 Jan. 2024 Professional and casual bettors alike can turn to their smartphones to download an app and dream of winning parlays. Rivan Stinson, Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2024 There are countless horror stories among sports bettors of a parlay blowing up at the last minute. Dane Mizutani, Twin Cities, 2 Jan. 2024 Oliver’s suggestion that Santos’ parlay his evil for entertainment may not be too far-fetched. Carita Rizzo, Rolling Stone, 4 Dec. 2023 Understanding different types of wagering such as NFL prop bets and NFL parlays is paramount to learning how to read NFL betting odds, picks, spreads and more. PLAY TO WIN $10K: USA TODAY's Pro Football Survivor Pool is free to enter. Victoria Hernandez, USA TODAY, 7 Sep. 2023 Understanding different types of wagering such as NFL prop bets and NFL parlays is paramount to learning how to read NFL betting odds, picks, spreads and more. Victoria Hernandez, USA TODAY, 7 Sep. 2023 Popular sportsbook DraftKings has apologized for offering a parlay option that apparently sought to capitalize on the 22nd anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'parlay.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

verbal derivative (perhaps with conformation to parley entry 2 or French parler "to speak") of paroli "series of bets set up so that the original stake and winnings are placed on successive wagers," borrowed from French, borrowed from Italian, plural of parolo (stress on first syllable), of uncertain origin

Note: Apparently the earliest attestation of the Italian word is in the Italian-English dictionary of John Florio, Queen Anna's New World of Words, or Dictionarie of the Italian and English Tongues (London, 1611), in which Pároli is defined as "a grand part set or cast at dice," with a corresponding verb Paroláre "to set or play at a grand part at dice." French paroli first appears as a gloss of the Italian word in the Italian-French dictionary of Antoine Oudin, Recherches italiennes et françoises, ou Dictionnaire, contenant outre les mots ordinaires, une quantité de Proverbes & de Phrases (Paris, 1640), where Italian Paroli is glossed as "paroli, aux dez" ("paroli, at dice"). C. Battisti and G. Alessio (Dizionario etimologico italiano, Florence, 1954) characterize parolo as Neapolitan ("voce napoletano") and adduce additionally Sicilian pàrula "doppia posta nel giuoco del faraone o bassetta" ("double stake in the game of faro or basset [a game similar to faro]"), which they aver to be a derivative of paro "equal." Opposing these conjectures is the entry párolo in a list of dialect words from Lucca in Tuscany, along with their etymologies, compiled by Silvio Pieri ("Appunti etimologici," Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie, Band 30 [1903], p. 302). Pieri proposes that the word is a univerbation of paro lo "I offer it (hold it out)," referring to the sum wagered. This etymology is seconded by the Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, and the Trésor de la langue française.

Noun

derivative of parlay entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

1828, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1904, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of parlay was in 1828

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Dictionary Entries Near parlay

Cite this Entry

“Parlay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parlay. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

parlay

verb
par·​lay
ˈpär-ˌlā,
-lē
: to increase or change into something of much greater value
Etymology

Verb

from parlay "to make a series of bets so that winnings from earlier bets are all wagered on later contests," from French paroli (noun) "a parlayed bet," from an Italian dialect word paroli, plural of parolo "a parlayed bet," perhaps from para "equal"

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