bet
Forms
- Plural
- bets
- present (v1)
- bet
- past (v2)
- bet
- past participle (v3)
- bet
- present participle
- betting
- 3rd person singular
- bets
Definitions
1.A wager, an agreement between two parties that a stake (usually money) will be paid by the loser to the winner (the winner being the one who correctly forecast the outcome of an event).
- Dylan owes Fletcher $30 from an unsuccessful bet.
2.A candidate (for elections and pageants) or competitor (in multinational sports).(informal)
- I bet you know French.
3.Indicating a degree of certainty, or that something can be relied upon.
- It’s a safe bet that it will rain tomorrow.
- There's a good bet that Sally will arrive later.
- It’s an even bet that Jim will come top of the maths test tomorrow.
4.Alternative form of beth (“Semitic letter”).
- I bet you know French.
1.To stake or pledge upon the outcome of an event; to wager.
- I('ll) bet I can run faster than you.
- I bet(ted) her £5 it wouldn't rain all week.
- I'll bet you two to one I'll make him do it.
2.To be sure of something; to be able to count on something.
- Fancy going for a drink after work? / You bet I do!
3.To place money into the pot in order to require others do the same, usually only used for the first person to place money in the pot on each round.
1.Expression of general agreement or acceptance.
- He asked if KRS could come by and meet up with a few of us there on Monday night, as he wanted to show him the church and have me build with him. Aight, bet.
- She texted Jimenez and told him it was a nice time, but she wasn’t feeling him and apologized. “Bet,” Jimenez replied, because she kind of pissed him off with that comment.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #2019
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Uncommon
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Etymology
From 16th-century criminal slang, perhaps from Middle English bet (“something better, advantage, luck”), from Old English bet, bett (“better”, adverb); or, alternatively from abet, from Middle English abet, abette, from Old French abet (“incitement to evil”), from Old French abeter (“to entice”), from a- (“to”) + beter (“hound on, urge, to bait”); ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *baitijan (“to bait, entice”), related to Old English bǣtan (“to bait”).