jackpot
Americannoun
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the chief prize or the cumulative stakes in a game or contest, as in bingo, a quiz contest, or a slot machine.
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Poker. a pot that accumulates until a player opens the betting with a pair of predetermined denomination, usually jacks or better.
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an outstanding reward or success.
idioms
noun
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any large prize, kitty, or accumulated stake that may be won in gambling, such as a pool in poker that accumulates until the betting is opened with a pair of jacks or higher
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to win a jackpot
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informal to achieve great success, esp through luck
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Etymology
Origin of jackpot
An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; of uncertain origin
Explanation
A jackpot is a pile of money won during a game such as a poker. It's also any example of good fortune. Originally, a jackpot was a pile of money in poker that accumulated until someone produced a pair of jacks (or something better). These days, a jackpot is any kind of prize, winnings, or success. If you get a high-paying job, you hit the jackpot. If you married a wonderful person, you hit the jackpot. Sometimes a jackpot is specific to a game, like the money won from a hand of 21, but any good fortune can be considered a jackpot.
Vocabulary lists containing jackpot
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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.
Jackpot winners have the choice of receiving the jackpot in 30 annual payments or a one-time cash payment.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2024
Jackpot winners nearly always take the cash option, which for Tuesday night’s drawing would be an estimated $422 million.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 25, 2023
Jackpot winners can collect their prize in either one lump-sum payment or as an annual disbursement made in 30 graduated payments over 29 years.
From Reuters • Jul. 18, 2023
And the best ultrarunners increasingly participate in 100-mile races like the Jackpot Ultra Running Festival in Henderson, Nevada, last February.
From Washington Times • Jan. 18, 2023
He and Dave were alone in the Jackpot offices when the latter forced himself to open a subject that had always been closed between them.
From Gunsight Pass How Oil Came to the Cattle Country and Brought a New West by Raine, William MacLeod
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.
