Definition of parlay
- He hoped to parlay his basketball skills into a college scholarship.
- She parlayed $5,000 and years of hard work into a multimillion-dollar company.
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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.
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."
First Known Use: 1828
in the meaning defined at sense 1
See Words from the same yearThese 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.
: to use or develop (something) to get something else that has greater value
See words that rhyme with parlay Britannica English: Translation of parlay for Arabic speakers
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