Link Centre Dictionary

lottery

lot·tery

UK/ˈlɒtəɹi/ US/ˈlɒtɹi/ fairly common

noun

1.

something that is regarded as a chance event

  • “the election was just a lottery to them”
2.

players buy (or are given) chances and prizes are distributed according to the drawing of lots

Synonyms

Origin

Borrowed from Italian lotteria, from the same root as Old English hlot (cognate with English lot). Compare French loterie (from Middle Dutch loterie). By surface analysis, lot + -ery.

Phrases

  • draft lottery
  • genetic lottery
  • ghetto lottery
  • ladder lottery
  • lottery ticket
  • lottery wheel
  • lottery wheeling
  • nigger lottery

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.