sweepstakes
Americannoun
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a race or other contest for which the prize consists of the stakes contributed by the various competitors.
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the prize itself.
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a lottery in which winning tickets are selected at random, each winning-ticket number then being matched to one of the horses nominated for or entered in a specific race, and the amounts paid the winners being determined by the finishing order of the horses that run.
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any gambling transaction in which each of a number of persons contributes a stake, and the stakes are awarded to one or several winners.
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a risky venture that promises large rewards.
the high-tech sweepstakes.
Etymology
Origin of sweepstakes
1485–95; earlier swepestake originally, a person who won all the stakes in a game; see sweep 1, stake 2, -s 3
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.
Sweepstakes are primarily governed by state laws, which require that no purchase is necessary to participate.
From Washington Times • Oct. 16, 2023
I would not have bet on “Frasier” to win the Great Revival Sweepstakes, but here we are, 19 years after its run on NBC ended, picking up the story, Thursday on Paramount+.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2023
Melquiades Robles, the general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, told reporters on Sunday that the popularity of the number nine may have had something to do with the outcome.
From New York Times • Oct. 5, 2022
Sweepstakes begins at 9:00am ET on 11/15/2021 and ends at 9:00am ET on 12/06/2021.
From The Verge • Nov. 15, 2021
They were Connor Kane’s secret entry cards in the Break-the-Silence Sweepstakes Challenge.
From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg
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.
