gambling

noun

gam·​bling ˈgam-b(ə-)liŋ 

: the practice or activity of betting : the practice of risking money or other stakes in a game or bet

illegal gambling

compulsive gambling

Then, within the past 18 months, after the explosion in Internet gambling … and the cable TV debut of the World Poker Tour, the game took off again.

—Walter Kirn

—often used before another noun

a gambling game

gambling regulations

a gambling empire

Examples of gambling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The tidy red-sauce joint opened in 1947, with a secretive gambling room upstairs, and has changed hands a few times since then. —John Wenzel, Denver Post, 13 Aug. 2025

Another complication: Trump’s nominee to chair the CFTC is still in limbo as some in the crypto and gambling industries appear leery of him. —Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 12 Aug. 2025

Similarly, avoid gambling too heavily on new transfers into the Premier League. —Abdul Rehman, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2025

And the proliferation of sports gambling has added fuel to this fire of online abuse as disgruntled bettors take out their frustrations on athletes. —Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 9 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1700, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing gambling

• anti-gambling

Rhymes for gambling

• ambling
• scrambling
• shambling