wheel of fortune

American

noun

wheel.
a wheel-like gambling device that is rotated or spun to determine the winner of certain prizes.

wheel of fortune British

noun

Often shortened to: wheel. (in mythology and literature) a revolving device spun by a deity of fate selecting random changes in the affairs of man

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of wheel of fortune

First recorded in 1755–65

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.

Corrine Durber, from Gloucestershire, played the Wild Hatter game in October 2020 - a two-part game involving a fruit machine and a wheel of fortune.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2025

First, the experimenters spun a wheel of fortune in front of the subjects that produced a random number between 0 and 100.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

Many others were in disbelief, writing, "Did this man on wheel of fortune say the best buttercup?"

From Fox News • Jun. 11, 2021

“The wheel of fortune is going to spin,” she said.

From Science Magazine • May 24, 2021

He was always talking about fate and odds and the wheel of fortune.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023