gambling
Americannoun
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the activity or practice of playing at a game of chance for money or other stakes.
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the act or practice of risking the loss of something important by taking a chance or acting recklessly.
If you don't back up your data, that's gambling.
Etymology
Origin of 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.
My best guess on the reason for all these bubbles is a mix of easy money, the gambling instinct and hopes for new technology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
The company has argued that its activities are not gambling but something closer to market trading, using "event contracts" that let people trade on yes-or-no questions.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Put aside the broader question of whether predictions markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are simply dressed-up gambling forums that are already illegal under many states’ anti-gaming laws.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Leigh notes that not every state can take part in Raffall competitions because of different state gambling, lottery and consumer protection laws.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
They’d walked along the great curve of the harbors known as the Lid, then down East Stave to see all the gambling palaces.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
