wager

play

noun wa·ger \ ˈwā-jər \

Definition of wager

1 a :something (such as a sum of money) risked on an uncertain event :stake

b :something on which bets are laid :gamble

do a stunt as a wager

2 archaic :an act of giving a pledge to take and abide by the result of some action

See wager defined for English-language learners

See wager defined for kids

Examples of wager in a Sentence

He has a wager on the game.
I don't think the horse will win. What's your wager?

Recent Examples of wager from the Web

While Schnabel, 22, was happy to accept the pricey wager, Hoffman isn’t his only competition.

— emily strohm, PEOPLE.com, "The Miners Are Back! Todd Hoffman & Parker Schnabel Wager $100,000 on Gold Rush Season 8," 29 Aug. 2017
Lillard's backcourt partner, CJ McCollum, is not on Bovada's board in August, a curious exclusion on a list that allows for MVP wagers on Jeff Teague, Kemba Walker, Dwight Howard, Paul Millsap and Andre Drummond.

— mike richman, OregonLive.com, "2017 NBA MVP odds: Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant the early favorites," 16 Aug. 2017
If Jackson can produce similar numbers, the Cardinals could be a good wager at +600 to win the ACC.

— oddsshark, SI.com, "Clemson Trailing Florida State on Odds to Win ACC Championship This Season," 15 Aug. 2017
Stewart’s senior class -- Carly Wagers, Peyton Fisher and Emma Jeffers -- is particularly experienced: All three of them saw significant time last year and Wagers and Fisher will be four-year varsity starters.

— alexa philippou, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati volleyball expected to lead state again in 2017," 12 Aug. 2017
Yet the Trump trade was also a wager that the dollar would climb as investment flooded into the United States to exploit fresh growth opportunities.

— peter s. goodman, The Seattle Times, "The dollar and Trump: a currency safe haven is feeling less safe," 9 Aug. 2017
Also, a bettor solved the 20-cent Rainbow 6 wager for a jackpot payout of $14,837.44.

— baltimoresun.com, "Digest: Anderson beats Sock, will face Zverev in Citi Open men's final," 5 Aug. 2017
It’s by far the biggest bearish wager on Hong Kong’s stock exchange, where most of China’s top companies have listings.

— Bloomberg.com, "China's Big Short Looks More Like a Big Squeeze to Investors," 4 July 2017
Oil-market news: Money managers’ WTI net-long positions, the difference between wagers on a price increase and bets on a decline, was little changed at 133,606 futures and options, according to the CFTC report released Friday.

— ben sharples, Bloomberg.com, "Oil Extends Longest Winning Streak This Year as Drilling Slows," 2 July 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of wager

Middle English wageour pledge, bet, from Anglo-French wageure, from *wager

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

wager Synonyms

Synonyms

stake, bet

Related Words

collateral; handle, jackpot, kitty, pool, pot

Other Game Terms

bezique, carom, convention, crap, euchre, gambit, monte, parlay, tierce

wager

verb

Definition of wager

wagered; wagering play \ˈwāj-riŋ, ˈwā-jə-\

intransitive verb

:to make a bet

transitive verb

:to risk or venture on a final outcome; specifically :to lay as a gamble :bet

wager $5 on a horse

—

wagerer

play \ˈwā-jər-ər\ noun

See wager defined for English-language learners

Examples of wager in a Sentence

She wagered $50 on the game.
I wouldn't wager against them.

Recent Examples of wager from the Web

No person should ever try to earn a fortune by wagering on the results of the day.

— rustin dodd, kansascity, "Kennedy, defense falter in Royals’ 11-3 setback against the Cardinals," 7 Aug. 2017
Attacks on the media, often led by the president himself, seem aimed at squashing out the press entirely by wagering reporting missteps as proof of moral worthlessness.

— lauren duca, Teen Vogue, "The White House Is Promoting an Anti-Journalism Conspiracy Theory," 29 June 2017
Nonetheless, wagering on historical races has been in force at Keeneland and the Red Mile in Lexington, as well as at Ellis Park and at Kentucky Downs.

— sheldon s. shafer, The Courier-Journal, "Churchill Downs to develop $60M instant racing betting facility on Poplar Level," 20 June 2017
A highlight of the day was wagering on the Kentucky Derby race, which was live-streamed from Churchill Downs.

— joyce rudolph, Glendale News-Press, "On the Town: Dancers turn up the heat at club’s fundraiser," 20 June 2017
In front of a TV audience, Wang Jianlin, the real-estate maven who built his fortune in shopping malls, wagered Jack Ma, president of ascendant e-commerce giant Alibaba, that online shopping would never replace physical stores.

— Fortune, "The Accelerating Disruption of China’s Economy," 16 June 2017
If I were forced to wager my life’s savings on the verdict, I, too, would have bet that Jeronimo Yanez would never be convicted of Castile’s murder.

— michael harriot, The Root, "This Lying, Murdering Whore Called America," 16 June 2017
That first year, the track attracted 479,000 visitors who wagered about $40 million.

— kayla song, Twin Cities, "Woodbury developer eyes 1,000 new jobs for long-closed Hudson dog track," 29 May 2017
A total of $45,260 was wagered into the Rainbow 6 on Thursday, adding to a carryover of $149,752.58 from Preakness Day.

— baltimoresun.com, "Digest (May 25): Brigade return to action in rematch with Gladiators," 26 May 2017

First Known Use of wager

1602

wager Synonyms

Synonyms

gamble, go, lay, play, put, stake, bet

Related Words

bid, offer; adventure, chance, hazard, speculate, venture; endanger, imperil, jeopardize

Other Game Terms

bezique, carom, convention, crap, euchre, gambit, monte, parlay, tierce

WAGER Defined for English Language Learners

wager

play

noun

Definition of wager for English Language Learners

: an agreement in which people try to guess what will happen and the person who guesses wrong has to give something (such as money) to the person who guesses right
: the money or other valuable thing that you could win or lose in a bet

wager

verb

Definition of wager for English Language Learners

: to risk losing something (such as money) if your guess about what will happen is wrong
—used in the phrase I'll wager to indicate what you think will happen or what you believe is probably true