sweepstake
Americannoun
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sweepstakes
plural
noun
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a lottery in which the stakes of the participants constitute the prize
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the prize itself
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any event involving a lottery, esp a horse race in which the prize is the competitors' stakes
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
Omaze, a for-profit company, partners competitions with charities and celebrity endorsements using a sweepstake system, offering large value homes as prizes.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
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
If not, they are back in the same spot as 2025 when they got the second overall pick and missed out on the Paige Bueckers sweepstakes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
Adams did not respond to a detailed list of questions about FLAG’s financial practices, sweepstakes operation and educational programming.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
Plus, Netflix is rethinking some of its core strategies to compete with rivals, and the chaotic sweepstakes to replace Graham Platner has begun.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
The class-action lawsuit story is similar to the sweepstakes and lottery check scam: You are told you have won and/or been awarded money, and you can deposit this check in your bank account.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 27, 2026
Las Vegas and buried treasure; numbers dealers and Wells Fargo wagons; race track pay windows and spewing oil wells; craps, flushes, and sweepstakes tickets.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
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.
