bookie

noun

book·​ie ˈbu̇-kē 

plural bookies

informal

: a person who determines gambling odds and receives and pays off bets : bookmaker

The "line"—the Vikings over the Giants by four points, for example—establishes the point spread that the bookie believes will attract gamblers in equal numbers to each side of the bet.

—Jack El-Hai

Funnily enough, I was never anxious to win one of these bets. I didn't want to collect from the bookie on any of them.

—Art Buchwald

Examples of bookie in a Sentence

Their bookie is giving good odds.

Recent Examples on the Web

Perhaps the truest indicator of the election outcome is not either of those, but the old-school bookie who takes an unbiased position and simply moves numbers based on action. —Jay Ginsbach, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

Gets the family deeply into debt because of his gambling addiction, and even bets the money his bookie gave him as a baby gift. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2024

The grandstands at the turn of the century were filled with gamblers and bookies placing bets on every play of the game. —David Hill, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2024

That means odds can change much more quickly and fluidly than with a normal bookie. —Dylan Matthews, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018

Word History

Etymology

by shortening & alteration

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

bookie

noun

book·​ie ˈbu̇-kē 

: bookmaker