bet
verb (used with object)
to wager with (something or someone).
bet
1 American
[bet]
/ bɛt /
verb (used with object)
-
bets,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bet,
past participle, past
-
betted,
past participle, past
-
betting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
bets,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bet,
past participle, past
-
betted,
past participle, past
-
betting
present participle
noun
-
a pledge of a forfeit risked on some uncertain outcome; wager.
Where do we place our bets?
-
that which is pledged.
a two-dollar bet.
-
something that is bet on, as a competitor in a sporting event or a number in a lottery.
That horse looks like a good bet.
-
an act or instance of betting.
It's a bet, then?
-
a person, plan of action, etc., considered as being a good alternative; choice.
Your best bet is to sell your stocks now.
idioms
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all bets are off. see all bets are off.
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you bet! of course! surely!.
You bet I'd like to be there!
bet
2
American
[beyt, bet]
/ beɪt, bɛt /
noun
BET
3
American
abbreviation
Trademark.
bet.
4
American
abbreviation
bet
British
/ bɛt /
noun
-
an agreement between two parties that a sum of money or other stake will be paid by the loser to the party who correctly predicts the outcome of an event
-
the money or stake risked
-
the predicted result in such an agreement
his bet was that the horse would win
-
a person, event, etc, considered as likely to succeed or occur
it's a good bet that they will succeed
-
a course of action (esp in the phrase one's best bet )
-
informal an opinion; view
my bet is that you've been up to no good
verb
-
to make or place a bet with (a person or persons)
-
(tr) to stake (money, etc) in a bet
-
informal (tr; may take a clause as object) to predict (a certain outcome)
I bet she fails
-
informal of course; naturally
bet
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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betsimple
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betssimple
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have betperfect
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have bettedperfect
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has betperfect
-
has bettedperfect
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am bettingprogressive
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are bettingprogressive
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is bettingprogressive
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have been bettingperfect progressive
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has been bettingperfect progressive
Past
-
betsimple
-
bettedsimple
-
had betperfect
-
had bettedperfect
-
was bettingprogressive
-
were bettingprogressive
-
had been bettingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bet
First recorded in 1585–95; perhaps special use of obsolete bet “better,” in phrase the bet “the advantage,” i.e., “the odds”
Explanation
To bet is to gamble or risk something valuable against an unknown outcome. Poker players bet on each hand, hoping the cards they hold will beat those of the other players. Sometimes you bet money on a sporting event, wagering on the team you think will win and collecting even more money if it does. It's even more common to bet in a figurative way, saying something like, "I'd be willing to bet that the bus will be late again." The money you risk when you bet is also called a bet. The word probably comes from the now-obsolete noun abet, or "abetment."
Vocabulary lists containing bet
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
If that’s the case, though, then there’s another mystery—why wouldn’t smart energy traders bet on a spike now via the oil futures market?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Fast-growing shopping app Whatnot is now valued at $20 billion, nearly double the $11.5 billion valuation it hit in October, after a new round of funding from investors eager to bet on its live-shopping format.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Since the markets are so unpredictable, it makes sense to divide your eggs among many baskets rather than bet on just one.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
He says investors judging SpaceX purely as an AI bet are missing the point: "They're not just a compute provider. They're not just an AI company. It's a far more complicated picture than that."
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
“After that rain last night, I bet I can find some dandies.”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
The song, a diss track aimed at fellow rapper BIA, includes the lyric “Do she even got a BET award?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
The 2026 BET Awards brought music, comedy and community to the Peacock Theater on Sunday night.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
This strategy relied on a major assumption that all BET proteins behave similarly.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 9, 2026
Prior to joining the Journal, Annie designed for the Associated Press, BET, and Comedy Central, where she created art for legacy shows such as "The Daily Show."
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026
The rest of the guys were inside waiting to make their calls or playing cards or watching rap videos on BET.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
“This is a big bet. These pay packages will not be realized unless Meta achieves massive future success, benefiting all of our shareholders,” a Meta spokesman told Barron’s.
From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026
“It’s a bet. That’s what it is, and it doesn’t look or feel any different than that.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 24, 2026
Weeks later, Betts came across a tweet that read: “Hey @Dodgers @mookiebetts @SportsNetLA a bet is a bet. Meet Francesca Mookie Mancuso” with a picture of the newborn and her birth certificate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2025
"There are four or five teams within 0.2-0.3secs this year, I bet. That will put you within 0.2secs fighting for podiums or outside the top 10."
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2024
The third time, Johnny says, “You might as well bet. It’s just buttons.”
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
To be sure, it is still early in the month, and McElligott expects this figure to normalize as August continues on — unless investors continue to pile into bullish bets.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
The Los Angeles-based trader got his start in 2017, purchasing litecoin, a once-popular cryptocurrency, on a credit card, before scaling up his bets using stimulus checks during the pandemic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Bullish derivative bets mesh with the buy-the-dip mentality, says IBKR’s Sosnick.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
But all bets are off if you use growth and value funds that track indexes from different providers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
No one else seems bothered by these bets—they have no reason to be, really, because only the big bets are bolded and significantly change the tallies on either side.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
Some of those purchases may have been partly driven by hedge funds that had betted against GameStop, trying to cover their positions, and some of those funds made bad losses.
From Reuters ● Oct. 18, 2021
He started Plugable and betted big that depending on Amazon would turn his idea into a business.
From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2019
No one betted on Ms. Warren dropping out.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 13, 2019
Prosecutors alleged that local media coverage had "aided and betted the overseas media's contempt".
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2019
Once we would have said, Mr. Pecksniff quitted the firm, betted on the horses, and wetted his whistle, then wedded his sweetheart in a suit that fitted him perfectly.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
A spokesperson for the industry body added it was "simply wrong" to suggest that betting shops are spreading "unchecked", adding around 3,000 shops have closed since 2019.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Burnham said "the rise of vape shops, betting shops and rogue operators have replaced the shops, services, and community spaces that people are crying out for".
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Riley is betting big on that translating to the Trojans’ defense this fall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
And Wall Street is betting the Fed will raise rates before the end of the year to help slow down inflation.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
And I’m betting some kids will not show up today.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
