bingo

American  

[bing-goh] / ˈbɪŋ goʊ /

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)

1. a form of lotto in which balls or slips, each with a number and one of the letters B, I, N, G, or O, are drawn at random and players cover the corresponding numbers printed on their cards, the winner being the first to cover five numbers in any row or diagonal or, sometimes, all numbers on the card.

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interjection

1. (used to call a win in bingo.)

2. (used to express suddenness or swiftness, as of an action).

   He waved his hand, and, bingo, the card reappeared.

3. (used to acknowledge someone's sudden understanding or correct response).

   Bingo! That's just what I meant!

bingo British  

/ ˈbɪŋɡəʊ /

noun

1. a gambling game, usually played with several people, in which numbers selected at random are called out and the players cover the numbers on their individual cards. The first to cover a given arrangement of numbers is the winner Compare lotto

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1. a cry by the winner of a game of bingo

2. an expression of surprise at a sudden occurrence or the successful completion of something

   and bingo! the lights went out

Etymology

Origin of bingo

First recorded in 1935–40; apparently alteration of beano ¹

Explanation

Bingo is a game in which players cover numbers on a scorecard as they're randomly called out. If you're lucky enough to cover all the numbers in a row, you win — and you get to shout "Bingo!" Etymologists aren't positive about the origins of bingo, but they think the word was originally an exclamation of surprise or success. This enthusiastic interjection was borrowed to name the popular game of chance around 1924. You can use it either way today: "I was looking online for the closest bingo hall, and bingo! There it was, right in my neighborhood!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bingo

In a lighter moment earlier, the mayor, wearing a gray suit, had joined a tiara-wearing Miss Huntington Beach in selecting winners of a lottery—to run fireworks stands—from numbered balls in a bingo cage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

“Almost dying wasn’t on my bingo card earlier this week,” she wrote.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

Rose Smith, 75, "loved bingo, going to cafés with her friends and, above all, spending time with her family"

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

While the punchlines write themselves, I never had that on my bingo card.

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026

Pudgy grim smoking women played bingo in a closed-off bit where a spangle-jacketed man calls out numbers and smiles like a bee.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Related Words

• poker
• roulette