gambling
Americannoun
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the activity or practice of playing at a game of chance for money or other stakes.
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the act or practice of risking the loss of something important by taking a chance or acting recklessly.
If you don't back up your data, that's gambling.
Etymology
Origin of gambling
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.
My best guess on the reason for all these bubbles is a mix of easy money, the gambling instinct and hopes for new technology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Kalshi faces similar legal challenges in multiple US states where gaming regulators have issued cease-and-desist orders or filed suit accusing the platform of operating an unlicensed gambling business.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Put aside the broader question of whether predictions markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are simply dressed-up gambling forums that are already illegal under many states’ anti-gaming laws.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
A judge earlier this month rejected Kalshi’s bid to block New York from subjecting it to its gambling laws.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Further south, towards the Mediterranean basin, you might have seen a seaman being punished for gambling, under a law of Richard Coeur de Lion.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
