gambleverb
uk/ˈɡæm.bəl/us/ˈɡæm.bəl/[ I ] to do something that involves risks that might result in loss of money or failure, hoping to get money or achieve success:
Anyone who gambles on the stock exchange has to be prepared to lose money.
C2 [ I or T ] to risk money, for example in a game or on a horse race:
I like to gamble when I play cards - it makes it more interesting.
He gambles on the horses (= horse races).
He gambled away all of our savings.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Taking risks
- a drowning man will clutch at a straw idiom
- a leap in the dark idiom
- adventurer
- ante
- be skating on thin ice idiom
- dare
- expose
- go for broke idiom
- have/put your head on the block idiom
- hazard
- imperil
- jeopardize
- lay
- neck
- risk
- run the risk of doing sth idiom
- sail close to the wind idiom
- skate
- stick (sth) out
- stick your neck out idiom
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Gambling & bookmaking
Phrasal verb(s)
gamble on sth
gamblenoun [ C usually singular ]
uk/ˈɡæm.bəl/us/ˈɡæm.bəl/C2 a risk that might result in loss of money or failure:
Her publishers knew they were taking a gamble when they agreed to publish such an unusual novel.
It was a gamble using such an inexperienced director, but it paid off (= was successful).
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Dangers and threats
- baneful
- black spot
- brinkmanship
- calculated risk
- chance
- darkly
- desperately
- dodgy
- firetrap
- hazard
- hazardous
- hazmat
- high-risk
- hostage
- perilous
- poisoned chalice
- precarious
- pull
- pull a gun, knife, etc. on sb idiom
- treacherous
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