parlay

verb par·lay \ ˈpär-ˌlā , -lē \

Updated on: 21 Apr 2018

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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Recent Examples of parlay from the Web

Green parlayed that success into three top-10 finishes, all coming in her final eight starts of the 2015 season.

— gary curreri, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Green overcomes adversity and again making an impact on LPGA Tour," 14 Apr. 2018
Sharif parlayed his 1962 appearance in Lawrence of Arabia into a thriving international film career.

— jamie ducharme, Fortune, "Google Is Celebrating 'Lawrence of Arabia' Actor Omar Sharif With a Doodle. Here's Why," 10 Apr. 2018
Berman parlayed his success in nightclubs and in Vegas into bestselling records.

— donald liebenson, latimes.com, "Shelley Berman broke the mold for comics, now he'll be remembered at the new National Comedy Center," 3 Apr. 2018
Last year, Truex parlayed that early-season win into one of the more aggressive, dominant seasons in recent NASCAR memory.

— charlotteobserver, "NASCAR’s changing of the guard was supposed to come in 2018. Not so fast. | Charlotte Observer," 22 Mar. 2018
In his first season as the Sooners’ head coach, the 34-year-old Riley parlayed one of most graceful torch-passings the sport has seen into a Big 12 title and a College Football Playoff berth.

— andy staples, SI.com, "Lincoln Riley Prepares to Lead Oklahoma Into Life After Baker Mayfield," 19 Mar. 2018
The owner of an obscure web development firm before the 2016 presidential race, Parscale parlayed commercial website work for Trump family businesses into a role as the public face of Trump’s highly successful digital campaign.

— Washington Post, "Trump campaign chief lends name to penny stock tied to felon," 27 Feb. 2018
Those who already have the advantage of better educations, better connections and better financial resources often parlay these advantages into securing more valuable opportunities and more remunerative careers.

— kwame anthony appiah, New York Times, "Can I Use My Dad’s Connections to Get an Internship?," 21 Feb. 2018
In Montreal last year, Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla parlayed his rookie season into a seven-figure transfer fee to global superpower Barcelona at age 18.

— jonathan tannenwald, Philly.com, "Union's loss at Rapids set record for youngest defense in MLS history, for better and worse," 2 Apr. 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.

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