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
[bayt, 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:
Bristol Myers Squibb is making a $4.1 billion bet on radiopharmaceutical cancer drugs ahead of a major patent cliff in 2028.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
S&P 500 at 10,000 or bust: New ETF offers investors all-or-nothing bet on the index.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
The Oscars’ best picture field now routinely includes two international movies, and Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s dreamlike meditation on mortality and human connection feels like a sure bet to make the cut.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
As Dalio had explained in a Facebook post last month, investors in the past have been eager to bet on highly visible technologies, such as, a century ago, electrification.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2026
“I bet I’m moving all this stuff for nothing!”
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
For more than a decade, Paramount has been the smallest of the major media companies, owning CBS, Comedy Central, BET, Nickelodeon and the Melrose Avenue studio.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
The research team had previously shown that drugs known as BET bromodomain inhibitors can interfere with pathways that allow prostate cancer cells to activate alternative identity programs.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026
Even the news that ComicView, the iconic BET stand-up series, was getting a new reboot barely made waves online.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
In the new experiments, the researchers again found that BET bromodomain inhibitors slowed the growth of prostate cancer cell lines.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 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
What McNulty said in August: "Top four challenge and a cup are the best bet. Title contenders? No chance."
From BBC ● May 29, 2023
“Funny. Very funny. But they’d give a thousand dollars for him, I bet. Nine hundred for sure.”
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
Some of its business decisions have also drawn attention, particularly Tata Steel's troubled Corus acquisition, though other overseas bets such as Tetley and Jaguar Land Rover were successful and helped expand the group's global footprint.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
A new generation of individual investors discovered the markets during the post-Covid rally, and by early 2021 many amateur traders were pushing into more complicated, and often riskier, bets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
“I think the superscalers and the other ones, big AI bets, they’re overpriced, they’re expensive.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2026
"Most people have got bets on when we're coming back," Dani said, laughing.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
No one else seems bothered by these bets—they have no reason to be, really, because only the big bets are bolded and significantly change the tallies on either side.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
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
Prosecutors alleged that local media coverage had "aided and betted the overseas media's contempt".
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 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
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
Investors were also betting on what comes next, including thousands more hotels, car rentals and, eventually, advertising.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
The two parties who price diesel and money for a living are betting the other way.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
But Swain and others are betting that it’s unlikely this winter will be boring for California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
The changes will leave Informa as a more “pure play” company, betting on the increasing value of events in an artificial intelligence world, the analysts write.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
I didn’t have to count the bills myself to realize that they were betting the equivalent of my monthly paycheck.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
