gamble
Americanverb (used without object)
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gambles,
present (3rd person singular)
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gambled,
past participle, past
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gambling
present participle
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to play at any game of chance for money or other stakes.
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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)
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gambles,
present (3rd person singular)
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gambled,
past participle, past
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gambling
present participle
-
to lose or squander by betting (usually followed byaway ).
He gambled all his hard-earned money away in one night.
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to wager or risk (money or something else of value).
to gamble one's freedom.
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to take a chance on; venture; risk.
I'm gambling that our new store will be a success.
noun
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gambles
plural
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any matter or thing involving risk or hazardous uncertainty.
- Synonyms:
- flier, speculation, hazard, venture
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a venture in a game of chance for stakes, especially for high stakes.
verb
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(intr) to play games of chance to win money
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to risk or bet (money) on the outcome of an event, sport, etc
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to act with the expectation of
to gamble on its being a sunny day
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(often foll by away) to lose by or as if by betting; squander
noun
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a risky act or venture
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a bet, wager, or other risk or chance taken for possible monetary gain
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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gamblernoun
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gamblingnoun
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nongamblernoun
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regambleverb
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outgambleverb (used with object)
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overgambleverb (used with object)
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antigamblingadjective
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progamblingadjective
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ungambledadjective
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ungamblingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gamblesimple
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gamblessimple
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have gambledperfect
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has gambledperfect
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am gamblingprogressive
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are gamblingprogressive
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is gamblingprogressive
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have been gamblingperfect progressive
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has been gamblingperfect progressive
Past
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gambledsimple
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had gambledperfect
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was gamblingprogressive
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were gamblingprogressive
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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:
Once in Sin City, Aiyedatiwa skipped the casinos—the trip itself was already a gamble.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
"If the season goes well, you can earn double your investment. But the climate makes it a huge gamble," she says.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Funding cuts to Jodrell Bank Observatory are "a gamble on the future of UK science and scientific research", a BBC Sky at Night presenter has said.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Trading yield to chase those clients’ business is certainly a gamble for Main Street banks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
As the network pundits would later acknowledge, choosing Barack Obama to speak to an audience of millions had been a mighty gamble.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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
You don’t want to end up like this lost soul, lugging his giant gambles through the hellscape of his own mind:
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
Industry observers noted during that time that their planned lineup for the year was dotted with films believed to be high-stakes gambles, including “One Battle After Another” and Zach Cregger’s horror flick “Weapons.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026
To Rangers, the brevity of Rohl's managerial career would represent a monumental gamble - and after Martin, the new Ibrox board probably thought they were done with monumental gambles.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2025
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
At trial, Goldstein gambled on himself by taking the stand to testify.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
From the messy set of ‘Apocalypse Now’ to the secret edits of ‘Star Wars,’ author Paul Fischer pulls back the curtain on how Coppola, Lucas and Spielberg gambled their friendships to build the modern blockbuster.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 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
Kennedy, who was younger than Cahalane, had become his "boss" and he was "not happy" with the amount of money Danny owed, some of which he had gambled, Martin said.
From BBC ● Jan. 22, 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
"It doesn't always feel like movements are driven by rational reasons - sometimes it still feels a lot like gambling," he says.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Even so, as the line between investing and gambling grows increasingly blurry, it’s understandable that some consumers might get confused.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
The letters come a little more than a week after New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Kalshi, accusing the company of illegally operating a gambling app.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Critics say it amounts to gambling, regardless of how the markets are set up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
He notices me now and gives me a lazy smile, as if he’d always been here, instead of gambling in the Dark World just an hour ago.
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.
