gambling
Americannoun
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the activity or practice of playing at a game of chance for money or other stakes.
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the act or practice of risking the loss of something important by taking a chance or acting recklessly.
If you don't back up your data, that's gambling.
Etymology
Origin of gambling
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.
However, Duncan Smith said self-regulation had "proven ineffective across much of gambling policy" and called on the government to introduce "a robust regulatory framework with enforceable safeguards".
From BBC • May 13, 2026
What has happened to America to create a situation in which we’re now confronted 24/7 by gambling opportunities in many forms?
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
Primm was once one of Nevada’s more popular gambling resorts, a less expensive, slightly more kitschy alternative to Las Vegas that benefited from being closer than Sin City.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026
Prediction markets differ from traditional gambling firms by connecting two opposing bettors, rather than having bettors wager against the proverbial house.
From Barron's • May 7, 2026
Francie and Neeley had each been given a strip but Francie had been tempted by some shrewd boys into gambling her tickets in a marble game.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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.
