- present participle of gamble.
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.
New York wants the court to ban Kalshi from operating in the state without a gambling license and force it to forfeit all of its gains—as much as $36 billion in penalties and disgorgement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 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
And Gaughan insists using food as a loss leader still works for the South Point, which is more reliant on gambling than the city is overall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Kaz followed East Stave toward the harbor, through the beginnings of the Barrel’s gambling district.
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.
