lottery

[ lot-uh-ree ]

noun

, plural lot·ter·ies.

1. a gambling game or method of raising money, as for some public charitable purpose, in which a large number of tickets are sold and a drawing is held for certain prizes.
2. any scheme for the distribution of prizes by chance.
3. any happening or process that is or appears to be determined by chance:

   to look upon life as a lottery.

lottery

/ ˈlɒtərɪ /

noun

1. a method of raising money by selling numbered tickets and giving a proportion of the money raised to holders of numbers drawn at random
2. a similar method of raising money in which players select a small group of numbers out of a larger group printed on a ticket. If a player's selection matches some or all of the numbers drawn at random the player wins a proportion of the prize fund
3. an activity or endeavour the success of which is regarded as a matter of fate or luck

Other Words From

• anti·lotter·y adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lottery¹

First recorded in 1560–70, lottery is from the Middle Dutch word loterie (whence also French loterie ). See lot, -ery

Word History and Origins

Origin of lottery¹

C16: from Old French loterie, from Middle Dutch loterije. See lot

Example Sentences

The postcode lottery of perinatal services is stark.

From BBC

They are calling on the government to end what they say is a postcode lottery of perinatal mental health care.

From BBC

“Every night it’s a lottery – where it hits, where it’s shot down, where it falls and what happens.”

From BBC

The SpaceX CEO financed the Trump campaign to the tune of tens to hundreds of millions in PAC contributions and ran a potentially illegal lottery to turn out supporters.

From Salon

In the final weeks before the election, Elon Musk hosted town halls throughout battleground states and promoted a fraudulent “lottery” that wasn’t really a lottery at all, giving away $1 million a day to promote Trump.

From Salon

Related Words

• gambling
• raffle
• sweepstake