craps

[ kraps ]

/ kræps /

Save This Word!

noun (usually used with a singular verb)

a game in which two dice are thrown and in which a first throw of 7 or 11 wins, a first throw of 2, 3, or 12 loses, and a first throw of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 can be won only by throwing the same number again before throwing a 7.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of craps

First recorded in 1835–45, Americanism; apparently from French craps, variant of crabs “double-ace” (lowest throw at the game of hazard), from 18th-century English slang; see crab¹ (def. 7a)

Words nearby craps

crapola, crap out, crapper, crappie, crappy, craps, crapshoot, crapshooter, crapulent, crapulous, crap up

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use craps in a sentence

Pre-covid, you could probably snuggle 12 to 14 people at a big craps table.
Headed to a casino this summer? Here’s what to expect.|Erika Mailman|June 24, 2021|Washington Post
It was my turn to shoot, so I leaned over the craps table and scooped up the dice.
Headed to a casino this summer? Here’s what to expect.|Erika Mailman|June 24, 2021|Washington Post
In the years that followed, “Bezos invested Amazon’s winnings like a crazed gambler at the craps table in Las Vegas,” Stone writes.
How did Amazon grow so fast? By thinking outside the shipping box.|Marc Levinson|May 7, 2021|Washington Post
When my grandfather, Russ, came of age he shifted from alcohol to gambling, the next income stream that the mob developed, running craps games out of the back of his car.
What My Mobster Grandfather Understood About American Capitalism|Russell Shorto|March 17, 2021|Time

Craps was just too risky, and—in a far stretch—this was meant as a way to measure how my father would govern.
Meghan McCain: Let John McCain Go to Las Vegas|Meghan McCain|March 15, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Craps, played by these free-handed sons of the open, had more of a punch than he had imagined possible.
Partners of Chance|Henry Herbert Knibbs
At Craps, I fear, my hand in late years had lost much of its cunning.
The Little Warrior|P. G. Wodehouse
At Craps, I fear, my hand in late years has lost much of its cunning.
Jill the Reckless|P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse
The now practically obsolete game of Hazard was much more complicated than Craps.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 4|Various

British Dictionary definitions for craps

craps

/ (kræps) /

noun (usually functioning as singular)

a gambling game using two dice, in which a player wins the bet if 7 or 11 is thrown first, and loses if 2, 3, or 12 is thrown

shoot craps to play this game

Word Origin for craps

C19: probably from crabs lowest throw at dice, plural of crab 1

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

craps

Origin of craps

Words nearby craps

Words related to craps

How to use craps in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for craps

Word Origin for craps