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Synonyms

sweepstake

American  
[sweep-steyk] / ˈswipˌsteɪk /

noun

  1. a sweepstakes.

sweepstake British  
/ ˈswiːpˌsteɪk /

noun

    1. a lottery in which the stakes of the participants constitute the prize

    2. the prize itself

  2. any event involving a lottery, esp a horse race in which the prize is the competitors' stakes

"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

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.

Shall we do a sweepstake on how many turn up for the City match today?

From The Guardian • Sep. 18, 2021

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

If you pick this one in the sweepstake, feel free to have another go, although you never know.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2015

Also related to this story Inside the world's most famous race Pinstickers' guide to the Grand National Grand National sweepstake kit Grand National field is finalised Humans have got much faster... so why haven't horses?

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2014

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.