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:
Pringles’ Halloween sweepstake promises one winner a metal urn shaped like the brand’s cylindrical cans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
If you have drawn him in the sweepstake, you have a Pair rather than a Prial, which is the highest hand in three card brag.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026
The Broncos were the big losers in the aforementioned Kirk Cousins sweepstake.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 12, 2018
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
Two dracaenae exchanged coins like they were taking bets for the End-of-the-World office sweepstake.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
Two red flags during final practice had led some teams to have private sweepstakes as to how many stoppages there would be in qualifying, but the session ran cleanly, with no incidents.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
Nearly all of FLAG’s revenue originates from individual donors, and most of that money is raised through a direct-mail sweepstakes operation that offers the chance to win prizes, in one case $1,000,000.
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
Also used them to determine which candy bars held the winning pieces for a £5,000 sweepstakes.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
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