betverb
uk/bet/us/bet/present participle betting, past tense and past participle betC1 [ I or T ] to risk money on the result of an event or a competition, such as a horse race, in the hope of winning more money:
He regularly goes to the races and bets heavily.
She bet £500,000 on the horse that came in second.
[ + two objects, + (, that, ) ] I bet you $25 (that) I'll get there before you.
B1 [ T ] informal If you say you bet (someone) that something is true or will happen, you mean you are certain that it is true or will happen:
[ + (that) ] I bet you (that) she's missed the bus.
I bet (that) he won't come.
More examples
- On the face of it, it seems like a bargain, but I bet there are hidden costs.
- I bet that computer knocked you back a few thousand.
- "I bet you can't eat all that food on your plate." "Is that a challenge?"
- I bet you can't guess how old he is.
- I bet she wishes (that) she'd never got involved in the whole affair.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Gambling & bookmaking
- ante
- bank
- banker
- bookmaker
- chip
- cockfight
- dice
- draw
- gamble
- gaming table
- grab bag
- heads or tails? idiom
- high roller
- juke joint
- lose
- lucky dip
- spin a coin idiom
- stake
- tombola
- toss
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Predicting things and intuition
Idiom(s)
bet big on sth/sb
bet the farm/ranch
(how much) do you want to bet?
don't bet on it
I bet
what do you bet?
you bet
you can bet your life
betnoun [ C ]
uk/bet/us/bet/C2 an amount of money that you risk on the result of an event or a competition, such as a horse race:
She had a bet on the race.
He placed/put a bet on the grey horse.
informal a guess or opinion:
[ + (that) ] My bet is (that) their baby will be a girl.
More examples
- She's never put a bet on a race before.
- He never usually remembers my birthday, so it's a safe bet he'll forget again this time!
- He went down to the bookmaker's in Chesterton Road to place a bet on the race.
- They were placing bets on who would win.
- After winning a couple of bets, he thought he was on a winning streak.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Gambling & bookmaking
- ante
- bank
- banker
- bookmaker
- chip
- cockfight
- dice
- draw
- gamble
- gaming table
- grab bag
- heads or tails? idiom
- high roller
- juke joint
- lose
- lucky dip
- spin a coin idiom
- stake
- tombola
- toss
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Guesses and assumptions
Idiom(s)
be a fair bet
be a good bet
be a safe bet
be your best bet
do sth for a bet