gamble
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to play at any game of chance for money or other stakes.
-
to stake or risk money, or anything of value, on the outcome of something involving chance.
to gamble on a toss of the dice.
verb (used with object)
-
to lose or squander by betting (usually followed byaway ).
He gambled all his hard-earned money away in one night.
-
to wager or risk (money or something else of value).
to gamble one's freedom.
-
to take a chance on; venture; risk.
I'm gambling that our new store will be a success.
noun
-
any matter or thing involving risk or hazardous uncertainty.
- Synonyms:
- flier, speculation, hazard, venture
-
a venture in a game of chance for stakes, especially for high stakes.
verb
-
(intr) to play games of chance to win money
-
to risk or bet (money) on the outcome of an event, sport, etc
-
to act with the expectation of
to gamble on its being a sunny day
-
(often foll by away) to lose by or as if by betting; squander
noun
-
a risky act or venture
-
a bet, wager, or other risk or chance taken for possible monetary gain
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
gamblernoun
-
gamblingnoun
-
nongamblernoun
-
regambleverb
-
outgambleverb (used with object)
-
overgambleverb (used with object)
-
antigamblingadjective
-
progamblingadjective
-
ungambledadjective
-
ungamblingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
gamblesimple
-
gamblessimple
-
have gambledperfect
-
has gambledperfect
-
am gamblingprogressive
-
are gamblingprogressive
-
is gamblingprogressive
-
have been gamblingperfect progressive
-
has been gamblingperfect progressive
Past
-
gambledsimple
-
had gambledperfect
-
was gamblingprogressive
-
were gamblingprogressive
-
had been gamblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gamble
1150–1200; Middle English gamenen to play ( Old English gamenian ), with substitution of -le for -en; see game 1
Explanation
When you gamble, you take a risky chance on something. When an entrepreneur invests her own money in her business, she gambles on its success. If you approach a stray dog, you gamble on its friendliness, and if you turn down a high-paying job to take a more interesting position, you gamble on it eventually paying off. Another way to gamble is to buy a lottery ticket or place a bet on a poker hand: when you gamble like this, you play a game of chance, risking some amount of money. Gamble is from Old English gammlen, "to play, jest, or be merry."
Vocabulary lists containing gamble
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.
See Examples For:
A classic study published in 1990 by future Nobel laureate Richard Thaler and psychologist Eric Johnson found that people are much more likely to gamble after they’ve just gained a windfall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Brindle added it’s “not surprising at all” that men said they were more likely to take on the gamble.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
And FIFA’s biggest gamble also appeared to pay off.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
John Stones: It was considered a gamble by Thomas Tuchel to take Stones considering his fitness issues.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
At roughly the same time that Woolf started his potentially deadly gamble, Pollard engaged in a gamble of his own.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Here, Holland’s Telemachus gambles Athena is hiding inside half the people he meets until his father chides, “Don’t look for gods in men, you’ll just be disappointed.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Having just raised $122 billion in new funds at a valuation of $852 billion, OpenAI can probably afford a few speculative gambles.
From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026
"During my 17 years in charge there were highs, lows, successes, failures, huge gambles and many mistakes along the way," Watt said.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
Others are susceptible to competition against people with insider knowledge, like gambles on whether Lady Gaga will appear during the Super Bowl halftime show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026
And then, on the twenty-ninth move, with the position equal, Fischer engaged in one of the most dangerous gambles of his career.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Bonilla had excelled with the Mets earlier in his career, and they gambled that he could recapture the production of his youth by taking on the last two years and $11.65 million of his contract.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
A hot Silicon Valley tech player on the cusp of going public, a payday for all of those who gambled on its once unlikely success that somehow became obvious…and then trouble.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
That means Disney and ABC either chose to disregard its existence, or gambled – correctly, it turns out – that the public wouldn’t bother to look too deeply into what happened.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026
Borthwick has gambled once again in selection, making just one change from last week.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
Ames gambled that as chief of counterintelligence for the Soviet division of the CIA, approaching the KGB couldn't be simpler.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
Put aside the broader question of whether predictions markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are simply dressed-up gambling forums that are already illegal under many states’ anti-gaming laws.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
A judge earlier this month rejected Kalshi’s bid to block New York from subjecting it to its gambling laws.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Brazil on Friday made it mandatory for gambling advertisements to carry warnings about addiction and money loss, tightening regulations on a sector that has exploded in recent years, dragging many into debt.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
Villa needed to replace Bentano after Premier League clubs agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of their matchday shirts by the end of last season.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
I had a hundred thousand of these lines, and in one day they were severed, leaving me with nothing but a stack of his medical bills and gambling debt.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
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.
