/ English Dictionary |
LOTTERY
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Players buy (or are given) chances and prizes are distributed by casting lots
Synonyms:
drawing; lottery
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("lottery" is a kind of...):
gambling game; game of chance (a game that involves gambling)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lottery"):
tombola (a lottery in which tickets are drawn from a revolving drum)
lucky dip (a game in which prizes (e.g., candies or coins) are concealed in a container and for a small sum a player can draw one out at random)
numbers; numbers game; numbers pool; numbers racket (an illegal daily lottery)
raffle (a lottery in which the prizes are goods rather than money)
sweepstakes (a lottery in which the prize consists of the money paid by the participants)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Something that is regarded as a chance event
Example:
the election was just a lottery to them
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("lottery" is a kind of...):
accident; chance event; fortuity; stroke (anything that happens suddenly or by chance without an apparent cause)