as in to expand
to use or develop (something) to get something else that has greater value
He hoped to parlay his basketball skills into a college scholarship.
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Recent Examples of parlay
At left midfield, where Davies was also in contention to play, Norwich City midfielder Ali Ahmed will likely parlay his fine club form after a recent move to the English Championship into more starts for Canada.
—
Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Messer respected the university’s history and tradition and hoped to parlay that into more city-wide recognition for the oldest school founded in Fort Worth.
—Samuel O’Neal 10, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Mar. 2026
Alec Pierce parlayed a breakout season into a major payday.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 9 Mar. 2026
Finalists on The Traitors last season, including winners Gabby Windey and Dylan Efron, parlayed their success on the show into wide-ranging careers on TV and in podcasting.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for parlay
Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Messer respected the university’s history and tradition and hoped to parlay that into more city-wide recognition for the oldest school founded in Fort Worth.
—Samuel O’Neal 10, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Mar. 2026
Alec Pierce parlayed a breakout season into a major payday.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 9 Mar. 2026
Finalists on The Traitors last season, including winners Gabby Windey and Dylan Efron, parlayed their success on the show into wide-ranging careers on TV and in podcasting.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for parlay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for parlay
Verb
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While the senator comes to the position after more than a dozen years in Congress, and with the management experience of running an expanding family plumbing business in Oklahoma, he has not been seen as a key force in immigration issues.—
Rebecca Santana,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Mar. 2026
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When that happens, Stanley hopes the itinerary will expand beyond Dilworth, NoDa and Plaza Midwood.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The law extended the program for two years, setting the current expiration deadline and giving lawmakers another opportunity to revisit possible reforms.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Mar. 2026
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However, the association between the two nations on nuclear energy is expected to extend beyond the construction of the power plants.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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At the height of the pandemic — when learning loss was accelerating and reading gaps were widening — the approval process was estimated to take six months to a year.—
Daniel L Gordon,
Daily News,
29 Mar. 2026
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In the long term, the supply shock may accelerate nuclear restarts and electric vehicle adoption faster than years of climate policy ever managed.—
Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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This time, there were more events scheduled − 3,300 versus 2,700 − and larger crowds reported in some places, boosted in part by opposition to the war in Iran.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
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Orr hired Campbell away from Oregon, where the coach’s mastery in recruiting helped boost the Ducks to national prominence.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Farmers had hoped to compensate for last year's losses, when farm bankruptcies increased for the second year in a row.—
Lana Zak,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
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The goal is to complete the project ahead of the FIFA World Cup, when traffic and pedestrian activity are expected to increase downtown.—
Tiffani Jackson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Far more infants given Mead Johnson’s product developed a buildup of acid in the blood called metabolic acidosis than those fed Abbott’s product — 19 versus four, according to results published in the journal PharmacoEconomics.—
David Hilzenrath,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
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The guys have put in blood, sweat and tears to develop a top-four defense two weeks ago.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Fortifier, a product tailored to preemies, is meant to augment mother’s milk when babies are born prematurely and a mother’s milk alone doesn’t deliver enough nutrition.—
David Hilzenrath,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
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And the bullpen highlighted by Carlos Estevez and Lucas Erceg augmented by the addition of Matt Strahm figures to give them an advantage in putting away games.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Transportation Security Administration officers are nearing a breaking point as a weeks-long partial government shutdown stretches on, threatening airport operations in North Texas and leaving workers without pay, union leaders say.—
Marvin Hurst,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2026
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His collaborators included some of the most significant directors in Hollywood history, among them Michael Curtiz, John Frankenheimer, Sidney Lumet and Martin Ritt, with a roster of stars stretching from Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney to Paul Newman, Rock Hudson and Barbra Streisand.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Parlay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parlay. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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