gamble - Longman Dictionary

gamble · gamble to try to win money, for example by playing cards or guessing which horse will win a race · bet/have a bet to try to win money by guessing who ... gambleFromLongmanDictionaryofContemporaryEnglishRelatedtopics:Gamblinggamblegam‧ble1/ˈɡæmbəl/●●○verb[intransitive,transitive]    1DGGtoriskmoneyorpossessionsontheresultofsomethingsuchasacardgameorarace,whenyoudonotknowforcertainwhattheresultwillbe→bet  Theirreligionforbidsthemtodrinkorgamble.gambleon  Jacklovesgamblingonthehorses.2RISKtodosomethingthatinvolvesalotofrisk,andthatwillnotsucceedunlessthingshappenthewayyouwouldlikethemtogambleon  They’regamblingonJohnsonbeingfitforSaturday’sgame.gamblesomethingonsomething  Pottergambledeverythingonhisnewplaybeingahit.gamblethat  Shewasgamblingthathewouldn’treadittoocarefully.gamblewith  Wecan’trelaxoursafetystandards–we’dbegamblingwithpeople’slives.—gamblernoun[countable]  Stevenswasacompulsivegambler.THESAURUSgambletotrytowinmoney,forexamplebyplayingcardsorguessingwhichhorsewillwinaraceEddielovedtogamble,andwouldspendmosteveningsattheroulettetable.Agrowingnumberofpeoplearegamblingonline.bet/haveabettotrytowinmoneybyguessingwhowillwinaraceorgameHelikedtosmoke,drink,andbetonhorses.Jerrybet$1000onthegame.WehadabetontheIrishteamtowin.put£10/$20etconsomethingtogamble£10,$20etconthehorseorteamthatyouthinkwillwinaraceorcompetitionIput$100ontheCowboystowin.haveaflutterBritishEnglishinformaltogambleasmallamountofmoney,especiallyontheresultofahorserace–usedespeciallywhensomeonedoesnotgambleveryoftenI’mnotaheavygambler,butIliketohaveaflutterfromtimetotime.IhadalittleflutterontheGrandNationalandwon£5.playformoneytogamblemoneyontheresultofagamewhichyouareplaying‘Areweplayingformoneyhere,gentlemen?’hesaidasheapproachedthepooltable.You’reallowedtoplaycardsinthebar,butnotformoney.backtogamblemoneyonaparticularhorse,teametcthatyouthinkwillwinaraceorcompetitionWhenIbackahorse,italwaysseemstofinishsecond. →gamblesomething↔away→SeeVerbtableExamplesfromtheCorpusgamble•Beingofverymodestmeans,buthavingsomecontactsupontheturf,heattemptedtoincreasehiswagesbygambling.•Atthetrial,defenseattorneyNealgambledbycallingnodefensewitnesses.•Byappealingdirectlytohisfellow-citizensandbankingonagenerousresponse,thePresidentmayjusthavegambledcorrectly.•Iletthemgambleforthecriminals'belongings.•Wewon$700gamblinginLasVegas.•Byconvertingpoundstoothercurrenciesinvestorsaregamblingthatthepoundwillfall.gambleon•Heisonprobationforillegallygamblingonacollegebasketballgame.•We'regamblingontheweatherbeingniceforouroutdoorwedding.gamblethat•Thetraditionofgamblingthathadbeenassociatedwithbrutalsportscametobecentredonhorse-racingandlaterfootball.•Aidesaregamblingthathisbrokenpromiseofataxcutonthemiddleclasswasnevertakenseriously.•Aretheywillingtogamblethathistorywillnotrepeatitself?•Movedbythepleasofthestrandedworkmen,Ellisgambledthatitcould.•Giventhecurrentmood,itisagamblethatMrBarakmighteasilylose.•Theindexescamecrashingdown,makinglosersoutofmanyneophytecapitalistsgamblingthatpriceswouldshootupforever.•Byconvertingpoundstoothercurrenciesinvestorsaregamblingthatthepoundwillfall.•Alay-up,itshouldbesaid,wasjargonforagamblethatwassuretosucceed.gamblegamble2noun[singular]    RISKanactionorplanthatinvolvesariskbutthatyouhopewillsucceed  Itwasabiggambleforhertoleavethebandandgosolo.gambleon  Thegambleontheharvesthadpaidoff(=succeeded).  Ellenhadtoadmitthegamblehadpaidoff(=succeeded).  Inadepressedmarket,wecannotaffordtotakeagambleonanewproduct. COLLOCATIONSverbstakeagambleThepublisherstookagambleonanunknownauthor,andthebookshavesoldwell.agamblepaysoff(=succeeds)Shegaveupacareerinlawtobecomeanactor,butthegamblehaspaidoff.adjectivesabiggambleIt'sabiggambleforanypresentertoleavesuchasuccessfulshow.ahugegambleGivinghimthejobseemedlikeahugegambleatthetime.acalculatedgamble(=oneinwhichyouconsidertherisksverycarefully)Hemadeacalculatedgamblethatanearlyelectionwouldreturnhispartytopower.adesperategambleTheparentstookadesperategamblebythrowingtheirbabyoutoftheburningbuilding.apoliticalgambleHisdeterminationtogoaheadwiththeplan,despitetheunrest,wasahugepoliticalgamble.phrasesbeabitofagamble(=involveasmallamountofrisk)Itwasabitofagambleputtinghimonthefield,butheplayedwell.besomethingofagamble(=involveanamountofrisk)Afewyearsago,launchingaweeklymagazineformenwouldhavebeensomethingofagamble. ExamplesfromtheCorpusgamble•Itisalwaysalittlebitofagamble..•Thecity'sdecisiontonotrationwaterduringthesummerwasagamblethatpaidoff.•Smith'sminigamblepaidofffortwoendslaterhestoleasingletotiethescoreat1-1.•Atthemoment,thatgambleseemstobepayingoff.•Andthegambleseemstohavepaidoff.•Asithappened,thegamblepaidoffhandsomely.•OnTuesdaynight,thegamblepaidoff.•TheUniongamblehadpaidoff.Itwasa...gamble•Itwasagambleofsortsonbothsides.•Itwasagamble,thattheeconomycouldgrowfastenoughtosustaintherepayments.•Itwasabravegamble,andintheendtheylostit.•Itwasaconsiderablegamble,fornoexistingsystemseemedadequatetothesizeoftheproject.•Itwastimetogambleagain.FromLongmanBusinessDictionarygamblegam‧ble1/ˈgæmbəl/verb[intransitive,transitive]1FINANCEtoriskmoneyonthestockmarketoranewbusinessactivityinthehopeofmakingaprofitgambleonThecompanyisgamblingonanewclothinglineexpandingitsbusiness.gamblesomethingonsomethingTheHollywoodstudiogambled£20milliononmakingthemostexpensiveblack-and-whitefilmever.gamblewithThetwomengambledwith£6,000oftheirsavingstoestablisharesearchcompany.2toriskmoneyontheresultofsomethinguncertainsuchasacardgameorraceWhileonMadeira,hegambledattheisland’scasino.→SeeVerbtablegamblegamble2noun[countableusuallysingular]FINANCEanactionorplanthatinvolvesariskbutthatyouhopewillsucceedAllstockexchangeinvestmentisagamble.Theboarddecidedtoembarkonaggressiveoverseasexpansion,thebiggestgambleithadevertaken.Origingamble1(1700-1800)game Exercises Exercises Vocabularyexerciseshelpyoutolearnsynonyms,collocationsandidioms. IntermediateandAdvancedlevelgrammarpracticewithprogresstests. Listeningandpronunciation,exampreparationandmore! Moreresults gamblesomething↔away Procter&Gamble acalculatedrisk/gamble Seeallresults Picturesoftheday Whatarethese? Clickonthepicturestocheck. Exploretopics Businessbasics Geology Cleaning Navy Seealltopics Wordoftheday escalate iffighting,violence,orabadsituationescalates,orifsomeoneescalatesit,itbecomesmuchworse VerbtablegamblePresentI,you,we,theygamblehe,she,itgambles >ViewMore PastI,you,he,she,it,we,theygambledPresentperfectI,you,we,theyhavegambledhe,she,ithasgambledPastperfectI,you,he,she,it,we,theyhadgambledFutureI,you,he,she,it,we,theywillgambleFutureperfectI,you,he,she,it,we,theywillhavegambled >ViewLess PresentIamgamblinghe,she,itisgambling >ViewMore you,we,theyaregamblingPastI,he,she,itwasgamblingyou,we,theyweregamblingPresentperfectI,you,we,theyhavebeengamblinghe,she,ithasbeengamblingPastperfectI,you,he,she,it,we,theyhadbeengamblingFutureI,you,he,she,it,we,theywillbegamblingFutureperfectI,you,he,she,it,we,theywillhavebeengambling >ViewLess