wager
Americannoun
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wagers
plural
verb (used with object)
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wagers,
present (3rd person singular)
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wagered,
past participle, past
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wagering
present participle
verb (used without object)
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wagers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wagered,
past participle, past
-
wagering
present participle
noun
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an agreement or pledge to pay an amount of money as a result of the outcome of an unsettled matter
-
an amount staked on the outcome of such a matter or event
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(in medieval Britain) a pledge to do battle for a cause, esp to decide guilt or innocence by single combat
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English legal history a form of trial in which the accused offered to make oath of his innocence, supported by the oaths of 11 of his neighbours declaring their belief in his statements
verb
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(when tr, may take a clause as object) to risk or bet (something) on the outcome of an unsettled matter
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(tr) history to pledge oneself to (battle)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wagersimple
-
wagerssimple
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have wageredperfect
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has wageredperfect
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am wageringprogressive
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are wageringprogressive
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is wageringprogressive
-
have been wageringperfect progressive
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has been wageringperfect progressive
Past
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wageredsimple
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had wageredperfect
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was wageringprogressive
-
were wageringprogressive
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had been wageringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wager
1275–1325; Middle English wajour, wager solemn pledge < Anglo-French wageure, equivalent to wage ( r ) to pledge ( see wage) + -ure -ure
Explanation
To wager is to bet: you might say to your fellow train passengers, "I'll wager ten dollars that we won't get to Chicago on time." You can use the word wager as either a noun or a verb, to mean "place a bet" or "the amount of money being risked in a bet." So you could offer a wager at the poker table, or ask if anyone wants to wager on Monday's football game. Either way you use it, wager is a Middle English word that comes from the Old North French wage, "to pledge."
Vocabulary lists containing wager
Out of the Dust
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Stand in "Solidarity": 30 Words to Remind us English is at Least 30 Percent French
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A Night Divided
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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:
Also known as a bear steepener, it’s a wager that investors will ultimately demand higher yields on longer-term bonds.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
Prediction markets are websites that sell contracts that allow users to wager on event outcomes.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026
The 28-year-old told BBC Scotland earlier this year that "gold in Scotland is what I grew up thinking about" and you'd be a brave soul to wager against him when he's in this mood.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The congresswoman teased O’Handley, the person said, for not placing a bigger wager.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
“Perhaps you would care to wager on the outcome?”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Nine accounts on the platform Polymarket made millions on U.S. military actions in Iran, winning nearly all of their 80 wagers on U.S. strikes and ceasefire negotiations.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026
Both apps allowed wagers on the number of “explosive diarrhea” cyclosporiasis and measles cases this year, with both outbreaks shattering records.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
Revenue from event contracts in Robinhood’s prediction-market segment — which allows users to place wagers on things like sports and politics — increased more than tenfold to $156 million during the second quarter.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
With the S&P 500 up nearly threefold since Quadir launched Safkhet in 2018, she spent the past few years trying to claw back losses on wagers that didn’t go her way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
The New York bookies were having a tough time trying to find anyone willing to put a few bucks on Seabiscuit; 95 percent of the wagers were on War Admiral.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
The 9th Circuit wagered that only two justices were likely to side with the administration, while the 7th merely implored the high court to weigh in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Suzuki wagered schools would bring history classes to view “Fireflies,” a story where Something Happens, then stay to watch “Totoro” as a kind of palate cleanser.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
The largest such platform, Kalshi, told AFP that $29 million have been wagered on SpaceX-related questions, from Musk's net worth at end-2026 to the possibility of a Mars landing before 2030.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
From October to December of last year, Spagnuolo allegedly wagered approximately $2.7 million on 25 bets tied to the Google Year in Search results.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
Travis would’ve wagered a lot of money on it.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
Nadig acknowledged the opinion of some that online wagering is simply entertainment that people pay for.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Los Angeles County election officials are examining steps ahead of the November midterms to respond to the rising popularity of election trading via prediction markets, including a possible ban on wagering for county election workers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
For months, investors have been often willing to look past the conflict, wagering that the two countries could negotiate a resolution well before the war posed a long-term threat to markets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
“Our modeling is deterministic and physics‑based; it is not informed by markets, wagering systems, crowd predictions, or any other form of prediction‑market mechanism,” SeLegue said.
From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2026
In 1933 California agreed to legalize wagering on two conditions.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
