roulette

noun rou·lette \ rü-ˈlet \

|Updated on: 7 Jun 2018

Definition of roulette

1 a : a gambling game in which players bet on which compartment of a revolving wheel a small ball will come to rest in

b : something involving a high degree of chance and unpredictability

2 a : any of various toothed wheels or disks (as for producing rows of dots on engraved plates or for making short consecutive incisions in paper to facilitate subsequent division)

b : tiny slits between rows of stamps in a sheet that are made by a roulette and serve as an aid in separation — compare perforation

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Recent Examples of roulette from the Web

StumbleUpon was a wacky game of roulette, one that allowed you to click a button and land somewhere unexpected.

— megan farokhmanesh, The Verge, "Goodbye, StumbleUpon, one of the last great ways to find good things online," 24 May 2018
Casinos have slots, poker and other table games such as baccarat, craps and roulette.

— hugo martin, latimes.com, "Sports gambling may be coming to California — but it's unclear who will take your bets," 20 May 2018
Because of those moderate expectations and a lack of acceptance that the NHL playoffs are as random as a game of roulette, Boudreau was fired after leading the Caps to a staggering 201-88-40 record in his first four seasons.

— chris chase, For The Win, "Dwane Casey and the 10 other best coaches to be fired," 11 May 2018
Shopping for our moms is like our moms shopping for us: a stubborn game of gift-giving roulette.

— refinery29.com, "What To Buy Your Mom For Mother's Day Based On Her Horoscope," 8 May 2018
In the silence that follows, Rae hears the spinning of a thousand roulette wheels.

— karen russell, The New Yorker, "Orange World," 4 June 2017
The unsettled situation has made the roster roulette wheel spin furiously, with six player moves in six days.

— tom haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "During injuries and challenges, the Brewers have kept their heads above water thus far," 11 Apr. 2018
The benefit for the Oak Lawn Children’s Museum from 6 to 10 p.m. April 21 will have entertainment-only games (no money exchanged) such as roulette, blackjack and craps plus a silent auction with mobile bidding, an open bar and buffet.

— vickie snow jurkowski, Daily Southtown, "5 things to do April 20-21," 11 Apr. 2018
Flyers: Pretty remarkable that the Flyers landed a No. 3 seed after playing goalie roulette for most of the season.

— ed barkowitz, Philly.com, "NHL playoffs: Looking at the Flyers' competition in the Eastern Conference," 9 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'roulette.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of roulette

French, literally, small wheel, from Old French roelete, diminutive of roele wheel, rowel, from Late Latin rotella, diminutive of Latin rota wheel — more at roll

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1744

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year