bet
1[ bet ]
/ bɛt /
verb (used with object), bet or bet·ted, bet·ting.
to wager with (something or someone).
verb (used without object), bet or bet·ted, bet·ting.
to make a wager: Do you want to bet?
noun
RELATED CONTENT
The Letter B Once Had A Much Longer NameThe letter B was part of the Phoenician alphabet more than 3000 years ago in 1000 BCE. At that time, the letter was called beth and looked a little different, but it made the sound of b and was second in the alphabet. The shape of the letter resembled the floor plan of a house, and the word beth meant “house.” This is pictured below. In Hebrew, the letter was called beth, bet, or bayt which also …
Then vs. ThanThen and than are among the 100 most frequently used words in the English language. For some, this ubiquity translates into greater opportunity for committing grammatical blunders. Let’s take a look at the differences between these two terms. Then indicates time or consequence, as in the following examples: Bagels were cheaper then; First I’ll drink my orange juice, then eat my bagel; If I drink too …
Nearby words
Idioms
you bet! Informal. of course! surely!: You bet I'd like to be there!
Origin of bet
11585–95; perhaps special use of obsolete bet better, in phrase the bet the advantage, i.e., the odds
Definition for bet (2 of 4)
Definition for bet (3 of 4)
BET
Trademark.
Black Entertainment Television: a cable television channel.
Definition for bet (4 of 4)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for bet
British Dictionary definitions for bet
bet
/ (bɛt) /
noun
verb bets, betting, bet or betted
Word Origin for bet
C16: probably short for abet
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for bet
bet
1590s, as both a verb and noun, in the argot of petty criminals, of unknown origin; probably a shortening of abet or else from obsolete beet "to make good," from Old English bætan "make better, arouse, stimulate," from Proto-Germanic *baitjanan, in which case the verb would be the original. The original notion is perhaps "to improve" a contest by wagering on it, or it is from the "bait" sense in abet. Used since 1852 in various American English slang assertions (cf. you bet "be assured," 1857). Related: Betting.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with bet
bet
In addition to the idioms beginning with bet
- bet one's ass
- bet on the wrong horse
also see:
- back (bet on) the wrong horse
- hedge one's bets
- you bet your ass
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.