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.
“It’s a lot like gambling, and if you think about it over the short term, you should expect gambling-type results.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026
A string of high-profile European companies, including semiconductor company Arm and gambling group Flutter, have either gone public in the U.S. or moved their primary listings to the country in search of higher valuations.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
Let’s see if they put prediction markets to the Clarence Barron test: Is it “the application of money to practical ends,” or mere gambling?
From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour called the ruling a win, as various states have filed lawsuits against Kalshi, arguing its operations constitute illegal gambling.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
The police got ready, the gambling houses got ready, and the papers set up congratulatory editorials in advance.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
