raffle
1 Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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raffles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
raffled,
past participle, past
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raffling
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
raffles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
raffled,
past participle, past
-
raffling
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
rafflesimple
-
rafflessimple
-
have raffledperfect
-
has raffledperfect
-
am rafflingprogressive
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are rafflingprogressive
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is rafflingprogressive
-
have been rafflingperfect progressive
-
has been rafflingperfect progressive
Past
-
raffledsimple
-
had raffledperfect
-
was rafflingprogressive
-
were rafflingprogressive
-
had been rafflingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of raffle1
1350–1400; Middle English rafle dice game < Middle French, derivative of rafler to snatch; cf. raff
Origin of raffle2
Explanation
A raffle is a type of contest in which you buy a ticket for a chance to win a prize. After the tickets are sold, a drawing determines which ticket holds the winning number. People raffle off everything from fruit baskets to cars. You might enter a raffle at a school gathering, a fair, or another event. The proceeds from selling raffle tickets often go toward a good cause, like a charity. When a group holds a raffle, you can also say that they raffle the prizes off — your French club might raffle off a bicycle to raise money for your trip to Montreal, for example. A raffle was originally "a dice game."
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.
See Examples For:
"The raffle thing isn't worth putting my family through the drama," he wrote.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Leigh said they are not trying to make a profit, but they need to sell 550,000 tickets to cover the property’s costs, legal fees, taxes, prize money and raffle expenses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Yamal’s family had entered a charity raffle organized by the Spanish newspaper Diario Sport and the United Nations Children’s Fund, known as UNICEF, and they won a spot in a promotional photo shoot with Messi.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
Buffett has lavished praise on the executive for his preternatural ability to craft offbeat policies, including insuring Chicago’s tallest building against terrorist attacks and Pepsi against having to award a $1 billion raffle prize.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
“We could have some craft tables for kids. And a raffle for a special wishing penny for the well. It’d be more gesture than anything else,” I said.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
It raffles off free Cane’s for a year to a “Lucky 20” customers who show up within the first few hours of an opening, offering Caniacs another reason to camp outside in the parking lot.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
These might include old-school offerings like block parties, back-to-school events, give-aways and raffles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
From raffles to ultramarathons and charity nights, family and friends have fundraised meaning Dan and Anna could set off for a trial abroad in October.
From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025
They have held auctions, organized raffles and invited influencers to participate in promotional clips.
From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2024
Until the end of the wars Petra Cotes continued to support herself with the returns from her raffles and Aureliano Segundo was able to sack Úrsula's savings from time to time.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
He campaigned on X to get the pay plan approved, and the company raffled off a chance for a tour of a Tesla production plant with the CEO.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Between Thursday, June 19, and Sunday, June 22, participating chefs and restaurants throughout Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego are presenting unique pies to be sold or raffled whole or by the slice.
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2025
It will be raffled this fall — after Kelce drives it around town and to games for a few weeks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2024
He autographed “Star Wars”-themed posters that are being raffled off.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 27, 2023
The swag Wilfrido raffled off was pretty cool.
From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya
They thought it was funny and weird that the event was raffling off a chocolate cake, she said.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 21, 2023
He's already selling greeting cards, T-shirts, hats, wine glasses, footballs, placemats and Christmas ornaments, along with raffling off tickets to see him perform.
From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2022
To celebrate the anniversary and raise money for community charity Back on Track, Joyce is raffling off the silver disc he received to mark the sale of 60,000 copies of the album.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2022
Chen and Mandell are raffling hand pies and selling tortillas, respectively, for the fundraiser.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2022
“Yeah, Miss Battaglia, I’m sorry I’m a little late, but I had to take my little granchirren around the neighbor-hood. They raffling some rosaries for the sisters.”
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
