casino
Americannoun
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a building or large room used for meetings, entertainment, dancing, etc., especially such a place equipped with gambling devices, gambling tables, etc.
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(in Italy) a small country house or lodge.
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Cards. Also cassino a game in which cards that are face up on the table are taken with eligible cards in the hand.
noun
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a public building or room in which gaming takes place, esp roulette and card games such as baccarat and chemin de fer
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a variant spelling of cassino
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of casino
1780–90; < Italian, equivalent to cas(a) “house” + -ino diminutive suffix
Explanation
A casino is a building where people can gamble and play games of chance. Your grandmother might enjoy taking weekend bus trips to the nearest casino with her friends. Many casinos are near — or inside — hotels, and include opportunities to dine, drink, and shop. The main event at a casino, however, is the chance to gamble either by betting money on games like blackjack or poker, or by putting coins in a slot machine. Casino is also the name of a card game. The word comes from the Italian casa, or "house." In the 1800s casino came to mean "building for aristocratic gambling."
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.
The Primm family, owners of the land that includes three casino resorts and other businesses along the 15 Freeway, announced Tuesday a partnership intended to save the struggling state-line strip and hundreds of jobs.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
"I think everything needs to be demolished," casino worker Eduardo Gutierrez Jr. said after returning to his apartment to retrieve belongings now covered in mud.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
This year, on New Year’s Day, I had brunch at the elite Wynn casino in Las Vegas.
From Salon • Jun. 3, 2026
Monday’s offer is a bet on real-world entertainment as well as the company’s BetMGM online casino business, Diller said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
“How does Dad know it’s the casino boat doing the dumping?”
From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen
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.
