bet
verb (used with object)
to wager with (something or someone).
bet
1 American
[bet]
/ bɛt /
verb (used with object)
-
bets,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bet,
past participle, past
-
betted,
past participle, past
-
betting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
bets,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bet,
past participle, past
-
betted,
past participle, past
-
betting
present participle
noun
-
a pledge of a forfeit risked on some uncertain outcome; wager.
Where do we place our bets?
-
that which is pledged.
a two-dollar bet.
-
something that is bet on, as a competitor in a sporting event or a number in a lottery.
That horse looks like a good bet.
-
an act or instance of betting.
It's a bet, then?
-
a person, plan of action, etc., considered as being a good alternative; choice.
Your best bet is to sell your stocks now.
idioms
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all bets are off. see all bets are off.
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you bet! of course! surely!.
You bet I'd like to be there!
bet
2
American
[beyt, bet]
/ beɪt, bɛt /
noun
BET
3
American
abbreviation
Trademark.
bet.
4
American
abbreviation
bet
British
/ bɛt /
noun
-
an agreement between two parties that a sum of money or other stake will be paid by the loser to the party who correctly predicts the outcome of an event
-
the money or stake risked
-
the predicted result in such an agreement
his bet was that the horse would win
-
a person, event, etc, considered as likely to succeed or occur
it's a good bet that they will succeed
-
a course of action (esp in the phrase one's best bet )
-
informal an opinion; view
my bet is that you've been up to no good
verb
-
to make or place a bet with (a person or persons)
-
(tr) to stake (money, etc) in a bet
-
informal (tr; may take a clause as object) to predict (a certain outcome)
I bet she fails
-
informal of course; naturally
bet
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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betsimple
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betssimple
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have betperfect
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have bettedperfect
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has betperfect
-
has bettedperfect
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am bettingprogressive
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are bettingprogressive
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is bettingprogressive
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have been bettingperfect progressive
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has been bettingperfect progressive
Past
-
betsimple
-
bettedsimple
-
had betperfect
-
had bettedperfect
-
was bettingprogressive
-
were bettingprogressive
-
had been bettingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bet
First recorded in 1585–95; perhaps special use of obsolete bet “better,” in phrase the bet “the advantage,” i.e., “the odds”
Explanation
To bet is to gamble or risk something valuable against an unknown outcome. Poker players bet on each hand, hoping the cards they hold will beat those of the other players. Sometimes you bet money on a sporting event, wagering on the team you think will win and collecting even more money if it does. It's even more common to bet in a figurative way, saying something like, "I'd be willing to bet that the bus will be late again." The money you risk when you bet is also called a bet. The word probably comes from the now-obsolete noun abet, or "abetment."
Vocabulary lists containing bet
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.
See Examples For:
Fifteen years after Marc Andreessen famously declared that “software is eating the world,” his venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is making a big bet on hardware.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Plus, investors bet they can turn aging hotels from shabby to chic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
An abrupt shift in positioning could even force a so-called short squeeze, in which those who have bet on bond prices falling are forced to buy them back, pushing prices up even higher, Flight said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
He is making a long bet on a market a much larger company has struggled with.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
“I know they are. I’ll bet right now they’re watching every move we make. They’re smart, I tell you. They’re the smartest things you’ve ever seen.”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Although many deals have landed, others, such as his bids for ABC, BET, Paramount Global and Tegna, have not.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
Several indicated that Allen had financial backing on the deal to buy BET, and another showed he had $4 billion in funds to back the purchase of Paramount assets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
When MOF is removed, BRD2 can no longer stay attached to chromatin, while other BET proteins remain largely unaffected.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 9, 2026
For more than a decade, scientists have tested a group of cancer drugs known as BET inhibitors with high hopes.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 9, 2026
The rest of the guys were inside waiting to make their calls or playing cards or watching rap videos on BET.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
“This is a big bet. These pay packages will not be realized unless Meta achieves massive future success, benefiting all of our shareholders,” a Meta spokesman told Barron’s.
From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026
“This is a big bet. These pay packages will not be realized unless Meta achieves massive future success, benefiting all of our shareholders,” a Meta spokesman said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
“End of May, beginning of June is probably a safe bet. Something like that.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2026
Zuckerberg said he understood the frustration, and admitted: "I can't guarantee you that I'm going to be right about this bet. I do think that this is the direction that the world is going in."
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2023
“Tell you what I bet. I bet you’re going to see the Cheerleaders.”
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
Under the terms of the settlement, Gabriel Perez, the teleprompter operator, will pay a $65,000 civil monetary penalty and give up more than $107,000 won in bets to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
In 1901, speculators trading on margin, or borrowed money, eagerly leveraged their bets 10-fold or more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Spagnuolo on Wednesday also told a court that his indictment should be dismissed because prediction market bets aren’t covered by traditional antifraud laws.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Army soldier, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, with using classified information to reap more than $400,000 from bets tied to the timing of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s ouster.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The hedge fund people, he hoped, would see just how stupid the investors on the other side of those bets were, and cease to worry that the investors knew something they did not.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Some of those purchases may have been partly driven by hedge funds that had betted against GameStop, trying to cover their positions, and some of those funds made bad losses.
From Reuters ● Oct. 18, 2021
No one betted on Ms. Warren dropping out.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 13, 2019
It was the precursor to the euro but the experience ended in humiliation for Britain when hedge funds, including the Hungarian billionaire George Soros, betted against the pound — and won.
From Fox News ● Apr. 5, 2019
I have money on Wigan staying up, betted a few weeks back.
From BBC ● May 6, 2013
Once we would have said, Mr. Pecksniff quitted the firm, betted on the horses, and wetted his whistle, then wedded his sweetheart in a suit that fitted him perfectly.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
I don’t want to check, but I’m sure everyone’s favorite betting apps will offer odds on this event, though even Polymarket and Kalshi may know better than to piss off the president.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
The yen has been sliding despite previous interventions and comments by Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama that Japan was ready to act, remarks aimed at deterring investors from betting on the currency sliding further.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
Earlier this month, Burnham promised to revitalise Britain's "hollowed out" high streets by helping councils block new vaping and betting shops.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
While large investors are placing huge bets that airlines will do well, others are betting on the opposite and the instability is making stocks jump around wildly, the analyst says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
They kiss my cheeks and hold my hand and tell me how they won money in the kingdom's lotteries by betting on me to be named the favorite.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
