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.

But according to Krawczyk: "The reality is that, appropriate end-of-life care is a postcode lottery" and doulas can help to fill those gaps in care.

From BBC • May 2, 2026

"When you live around the border, it really can feel like a postcode lottery," she said.

From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026

Rival motoring group the AA said the chances of motorists seeing a cut in fuel prices would depend on where they lived due to what it called "the pump-price postcode lottery".

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

The under-diagnosis is well-documented and regional variation in NHS commissioning creates a postcode lottery.

From Science Daily • Jan. 4, 2026

This so-called postcode lottery is partly driven by money.

From BBC • Dec. 31, 2025

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