one-armed bandit
or onearm bandit
[ wuhn-ahrmd ]
/ ˈwʌnˌɑrmd /
noun Informal.
QUIZZES
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PUNCTUATION QUIZ
Punctuation marks help make writing easy to read and understand. Some of the most important ones are the period (.), comma (,), question mark (?), and exclamation point (!). How well do you know how to use them? Find out in this quiz!
Question 1 of 10
Which punctuation mark is best for this sentence? "Can I watch a movie __"
Origin of one-armed bandit
An Americanism dating back to 1935–40
Words nearby one-armed bandit
one thousand guineas, one up, one way or another, one-a-cat, one-acter, one-armed bandit, one-bagger, one-base hit, one-dimensional, one-down, one-eighty
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
British Dictionary definitions for one-armed bandit
one-armed bandit
noun
a fruit machine operated by pulling down a lever at one side
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
Idioms and Phrases with one-armed bandit
one-armed bandit
A slot machine, as in It's amazing how many people think they can make money playing a one-armed bandit. This term refers to both appearance and function: the operating lever looks like an arm, and the machine in effect robs players, since it “wins” and keeps the player's money in an overwhelming majority of instances. [c. 1930]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.