Verb He's been drinking and gambling heavily. He would often gamble hundreds of dollars on a hand of poker. The mayor is gambling with the city's future. people who lost money gambling in the stock market The mayor is gambling that the new policies will help rather than hurt the city. Noun Starting her own business was a gamble, but it paid off. She thought about starting her own business, but she decided it was too much of a gamble. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Udell discovered an untapped market of dreamers and tinkerers willing to gamble on their talents, too. Adam Popescu, Popular Mechanics, 18 July 2022 Austin said low income Black families should not gamble their money without receiving guidance from a financial adviser. Nicquel Terry Ellis, CNN, 20 Aug. 2022 The college football and National Football League seasons—a prime time to advertise and entice more people to gamble—will be a balancing act on the path to profitability for companies such as FanDuel Group, DraftKings Inc. Katherine Sayre, WSJ, 17 Aug. 2022 One video showed a man continuing to gamble at a casino slot machine while water fell around him. From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 1 Aug. 2022 One video showed a man continuing to gamble at a casino slot machine while water fell around him.CBS News, 29 July 2022 Just prior to the pandemic, NASCAR began to gamble a bit. Greg Engle, Forbes, 25 July 2022 The first is more akin to traditional sports betting, where users gamble their skins on the outcome of an esports match; the second is a lottery where players throw their skins into a pot for a chance to get back skins of higher value. Jonathan Lee, Washington Post, 19 July 2022 Without that option this year, mushers will have to decide whether to take the earlier, more conservative McGrath option for their long rest, or gamble on pushing their dogs another 41 miles to Ophir. Zachariah Hughes, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Mar. 2022
Noun
Other countries including China and Russia are building smaller reactors, but skeptics say the effort is a gamble on a technology with unproven economics. Jennifer Hiller, WSJ, 5 Sep. 2022 Since adaptive equipment can be a gamble for disabled players, each purchase may result in nothing less than expensive pieces of plastic that cannot assist the needs of the specific individual.Wired, 20 July 2022 The partnership knew opening a restaurant would be a gamble. Corrinne Hess, Journal Sentinel, 30 June 2022 At this point, choosing him is a gamble on the alluring flashes and potential that comes from moldable ball of clay with a rare combination of size, skill, playmaking and IQ. Chris Fedor, cleveland, 22 June 2022 If staying inside was a gamble, being outside was worse. James Verini, New York Times, 19 May 2022 The Bucks took a gamble on the raw, mysterious prospect with the 15th pick in that draft nine years ago, a decision that would transform the franchise and lead to the 2021 NBA championship. Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 19 July 2022 But assuming that Xi’s policy of eliminating Covid transmission was over was always going to be a risky gamble. Julia Horowitz, CNN, 11 July 2022 Colt’s firearms division took a gamble on the AR-15, buying the manufacturing rights for the rifle from Stoner in 1959 and embarking on a unique marketing campaign. Phil Klay, The New Yorker, 11 June 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb
probably back-formation from gambler, perhaps alteration (by dissimilation, or substitution of the frequentative suffix -le) of early Modern English gamner "player in a game," from gamen "to play" (going back to Middle English gamenen, going back to Old English gamenian, derivative of gamengame entry 1) + -er-er entry 2