lottery
Americannoun
plural
lotteries-
a gambling game or method of raising money, as for some public charitable purpose, in which a large number of tickets are sold and a drawing is held for certain prizes.
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any scheme for the distribution of prizes by chance.
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any happening or process that is or appears to be determined by chance.
to look upon life as a lottery.
noun
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a method of raising money by selling numbered tickets and giving a proportion of the money raised to holders of numbers drawn at random
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a similar method of raising money in which players select a small group of numbers out of a larger group printed on a ticket. If a player's selection matches some or all of the numbers drawn at random the player wins a proportion of the prize fund
-
an activity or endeavour the success of which is regarded as a matter of fate or luck
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lottery
First recorded in 1560–70, lottery is from the Middle Dutch word loterie (whence also French loterie ). See lot, -ery
Explanation
A lottery is a contest where players buy tickets and have a random (and low) chance of winning. Finding true love and getting hit by lightning are often said to be as likely as winning the lottery. A lottery can be a state-run contest promising big bucks to the lucky winners, or a lottery can also be any contest where the winners are selected at random. For example, some schools choose students by using a lottery system. Regardless of the type of lottery, a lottery works where there is great demand for something and only a limited number of winners.
Vocabulary lists containing lottery
Workshop 3, Part 1
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Selection Vocabulary 2, Unit 1
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for April 16–April 22, 2022
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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.
In March, the company acquired the operations of Caesars Windsor for about $54 million and entered into a 20-year operating agreement with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, said Chief Financial Officer Bret Yunker.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
A Powerball ticket worth more than $2.24 million was sold to someone at a Calabasas gas station, according to the California Lottery.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026
The ticket matched all five numbers — 6, 47, 49, 53 and 60 — in Saturday night’s drawing, except the Powerball number of 6, according to Lottery officials.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026
Destination Ball Hill has been awarded more than £19,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund to support the continued growth of services.
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026
Where the Lottery was concerned, even people who could barely read and write seemed capable of intricate calculations and staggering feats of memory.
From "1984" by George Orwell
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.
