sweepstake
Americannoun
noun
-
-
a lottery in which the stakes of the participants constitute the prize
-
the prize itself
-
-
any event involving a lottery, esp a horse race in which the prize is the competitors' stakes
Etymology
Origin of sweepstake
C15: originally referring to someone who sweeps or takes all the stakes in a 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.
"They all thought I was going to kick the bucket, but I won the sweepstake down the golf club."
From BBC • Sep. 25, 2024
Keisha Schahaff and Ana Mayers won their tickets in a sweepstake.
From BBC • Aug. 10, 2023
It's now like winning a lottery sweepstake, where the lucky few get a free new life, meanwhile, the others are denied any chance at life.
From New York Times • Feb. 25, 2018
Sitting on folding chairs, he and sound man John Harrison, 50, are passing the time by organizing a sweepstake on the date of the royal baby’s birth.
From Time • Jul. 3, 2013
Two dracaenae exchanged coins like they were taking bets for the End-of-the-World office sweepstake.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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.
