parlay

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verb par·lay \ ˈpär-ˌlā , -lē \

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

Perenchio has managed to parlay the act into the biggest-money tennis event in history — the gross receipts may go as high as $5 million.

— christopher bonanos, The Cut, "Revisiting Nora Ephron on the Artifice of the ‘Battle of the Sexes’," 25 Aug. 2017
The history of politically inexperienced, personally repellent third-rate television personalities with anger issues who managed to parlay their fame into high office does not begin with Donald Trump.

— kyle smith, National Review, "Al Franken, Un-Funny Man of the Senate," 7 Aug. 2017
DIY Wounds Only in the world of horror could a makeup artist be as much of a star as an actor or director, and Tom Savini has parlayed his work in makeup into both acting and directing.

— john wenz, Popular Mechanics, "How to Make Fake Blood & Guts for Halloween," 21 July 2017
Jonathon Simmons parlayed his Summer League appearances into a gig with the San Antonio Spurs.

— mark inabinett, AL.com, "NFL Films remembers Ken Stabler with video," 9 July 2017
Officials hope to parlay the new splash pad into an expansion of summer park programs, said park board president Mark Dickinson, adding the goal is to get kids away from electronics.

— amy lavalley, Post-Tribune, "Splash pad opens at Chesterton Park," 6 July 2017
Hart managed to parlay those breaks into a full-blown empire, complete with stand-up specials, starring roles, sponsorship deals, and even apps.

— nick vadala, Philly.com, "Mapping Kevin Hart's Philly connections for the first-ever Kevin Hart Day," 3 July 2017
Ryan parlayed her impersonations into a pop culture sketch series on VH1 called Stevie TV from 2012-2013, and was later a co-host of Brody Jenner‘s E!

— lindsay kimble, EW.com, "YouTube star Stevie Ryan dies at 33," 3 July 2017
She's parlayed her section of the internet into a bona fide community, using humor, charm, and her own vulnerability as currency.

— anne t. donahue, Cosmopolitan, "Busy Philipps Now Gets Stopped on the Street by Fans of Her Instagram Stories," 30 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

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

Yet the singer-songwriter parlays this seemingly incredible resume with a politeness and genuine unpretentiousness that is almost stereotypically revealing of his Canadian upbringing.

— alexandra holterman, Billboard, "Shawn Hook Talks New EP 'My Side of Your Story,' Collaboration with Vanessa Hudgens," 28 July 2017
As the home unbeaten streak builds toward 13 months, and as Sporting Kansas City parlays that clout into a top spot in the Western Conference, the road outings have told a different story.

— sam mcdowell, kansascity.com, "Sporting KC draws San Jose 0-0 on the road Saturday," 17 June 2017
Add a second team, and a typical Sunday three-game parlay crushes the flexibility even more, based on AFC and NFC contract rights deals with CBS and Fox.

— Orange County Register, "Adding Chargers into the L.A. NFL mix will create a ratings nightmare," 7 Jan. 2017