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Synonyms

numbers game

British  

noun

  1. Often shortened to: numbers.  an illegal lottery in which money is wagered on a certain combination of digits appearing at the beginning of a series of numbers published in a newspaper, as in share prices or sports results

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Before the Lakers’ last game against the Suns, Redick said part of it was a numbers game with James’ return and felt the team would settle on a nine-man rotation.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2025

"In Lloyds, it will simply become a numbers game and staff will be hounded out of the business. We've seen it before," it said.

From BBC • Sep. 4, 2025

You start to understand that it’s systemic, and it is a numbers game.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2025

But it’s still a numbers game and the transfer portal has reduced the already slim odds of getting a Division I basketball scholarship.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 20, 2023

Instead, the staff played a sterile numbers game, seeking to impose a strict ratio everywhere.

From Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965 by MacGregor, Morris J.

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.