casino

American  

[kuh-see-noh] / kəˈsi noʊ /

noun

casinos plural

1. a building or large room used for meetings, entertainment, dancing, etc., especially such a place equipped with gambling devices, gambling tables, etc.

2. (in Italy) a small country house or lodge.

3. Cards. Also cassino a game in which cards that are face up on the table are taken with eligible cards in the hand.

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casino British  

/ kəˈsiːnəʊ /

noun

1. a public building or room in which gaming takes place, esp roulette and card games such as baccarat and chemin de fer

2. a variant spelling of cassino

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subcasino
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• casinos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of casino

1780–90; < Italian, equivalent to cas(a) “house” + -ino diminutive suffix

Explanation

A casino is a building where people can gamble and play games of chance. Your grandmother might enjoy taking weekend bus trips to the nearest casino with her friends. Many casinos are near — or inside — hotels, and include opportunities to dine, drink, and shop. The main event at a casino, however, is the chance to gamble either by betting money on games like blackjack or poker, or by putting coins in a slot machine. Casino is also the name of a card game. The word comes from the Italian casa, or "house." In the 1800s casino came to mean "building for aristocratic gambling."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

casino casinos

Monroe said that before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a trend among casino operators to split into operating companies and property owners.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

Not everyone is excited: Foreign investors are leaving the Korean casino.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

Newsom has also supported efforts by the tribe to block a smaller tribe from building a casino in nearby Vallejo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

When McKenna had a fight scheduled at Fantasy Springs casino, more than four hours from Los Angeles, Lamar decided he wanted to attend.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

It also offered horseback riding along the resort’s dirt trails, swimming in a huge outdoor pool, clay tennis courts, casino gambling, an antiques shop, and even a movie theater for the guests.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Kirkland said the regulations would have especially affected cities like Bell Gardens and Hawaiian Gardens, where casinos represent nearly 70% of the general fund.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

He also developed a reputation as a partier because of his frequent trips to casinos and jet-setting lifestyle.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

Las Vegas once offered cheap hotel rooms and buffets as loss leaders to lure gamblers into casinos.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

“I don’t want casinos in exchanges. I want to have products that people need to trade,” Duffy said.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026

They only paid four twenty-five an hour, and with all the casinos right across the river starting people at six twenty-five, well, it was hard to keep bodies behind the counter.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer