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

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 Over a 40-year career, Manafort, 69, redefined and expanded Washington’s influence industry both domestically and internationally, parlaying successful campaigns into lobbying opportunities. — Rachel Weiner, The Seattle Times, "From six homes to a city jail: Paul Manafort, who redefined lobbying, faces trial Tuesday," 30 July 2018 The Falcons are hoping to parlay a 4-2 run through their host tournament into some postseason momentum. — Andrew J. Campa, latimes.com, "Local quintet looks to make mark in boys’ volleyball playoffs," 5 May 2018 This connection is a profitable one, as brands and gurus have parlayed their number of loyal subscribers into hundreds of thousands of dollars in sponsorships and multimillion-dollar cosmetics lines. — Alex Abad-santos, Vox, "Laura Lee, Jeffree Star, and the racism scandal upending the YouTube beauty community, explained," 28 Aug. 2018 Give him more credit for parlaying seven NFL starts into a four-year, $72 million deal in Houston shortly thereafter. — Nate Davis, USA TODAY, "Ranking NFL's second-round QBs since 2000: Is Christian Hackenberg biggest bust?," 14 June 2018 Other UConn coaches/players to parlay their success at UConn into head coaching jobs include Jamelle Elliott (Cincinnati), Tonya Cardoza (Temple), Carla Berube (Tufts) and Jen Rizzotti (Hartford, George Washington). — Mike Anthony, courant.com, "UConn Assistant Marisa Moseley Named Coach At Boston University, Her Alma Mater," 17 Apr. 2018 This is a pretty impressively sweeping law, the result of grassroots efforts that have parlayed wide public support for marijuana legalization into legislative action. — Cady Drell, Marie Claire, "Marijuana Initiatives in the Midterms That Could Change Everything," 27 Sep. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

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 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

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.