postcode lottery

British

noun

a situation in which the standard of medical care, education, etc, received by the public varies from area to area, depending on the funding policies of various health boards, local authorities, etc

"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.

"They just said it was a postcode lottery and it was really expensive."

From BBC

"So in theory, yes, it's safe. In reality, we can sometimes be a bit more cautious, but that cautiousness is a postcode lottery."

From BBC

They said the delays were a postcode lottery, with some families waiting four to six months and others waiting nine to 12 months.

From BBC

Mahmood said "disparities in performance" meant that policing in England and Wales was a "postcode lottery".

From BBC

"We have 43 forces tackling criminal gangs who cross borders, and the disparities in performance in forces across the country have grown far too wide, giving truth to the old store that policing in this country is a postcode lottery."

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023