raffle
1 Americannoun
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
rafflesimple
-
rafflessimple
-
have raffledperfect
-
has raffledperfect
-
am rafflingprogressive
-
are rafflingprogressive
-
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.
As many as 1,000 fans showed up on the first day of the trial, and many would line up starting at 5 a.m. for raffle tickets that would allow them to enter the courtroom.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
“My uncle took me to see a match. He had won two tickets in a raffle at his job,” Luna says.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026
The first edition of the raffle was won by a 25-year-old American from Pennsylvania in 2013, with funds raised to help preserve the Lebanese city of Tyre - a Unesco World Heritage Site.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
To help towards that, the church sold raffle tickets to win the painting by Suffolk-born Hambling, which initially it hoped would raise £10,000, but had brought in £13,000 by January.
From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026
“Let’s have the raffle drawing! We’re giving away an all-expenses-paid weekend getaway to the Caribbean for two!”
From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya
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.
