bet
/bɛt/ noun, verb, interjection, preposition, proper noun
Also a form of beth
Forms bets betting betted
- noun 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.”
- noun (Philippines, figuratively, informal) A candidate (for elections and pageants) or competitor (in multinational sports).
- noun Indicating a degree of certainty, or that something can be relied upon. “It’s a safe bet that it will rain tomorrow.”
- verb (transitive, ditransitive) To stake or pledge upon the outcome of an event; to wager. “I('ll) bet I can run faster than you.”
- verb (transitive) To be sure of something; to be able to count on something. “Fancy going for a drink after work? / You bet I do!”
- verb (poker) 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.
- interjection Expression of general agreement or acceptance.
- interjection Exclamation indicating acceptance of a challenge or an absurd proposal.
- interjection Exclamation of joy at good fortune.
- preposition (knitting) between
- noun (analytical chemistry) An adsorption technique used to measure the specific surface area of a solid, typically using nitrogen gas at a temperature of 77 K.
- proper noun A diminutive of the female name Elizabeth.
Synonyms
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”). More at abet.
Abbreviation.
From Hebrew בית (bēt).
Named after its inventors Brunauer, Emmett and Teller.
Webster’s 1913
- noun That which is laid, staked, or pledged, as between two parties, upon the event of a contest or any contingent issue; the act of giving such a pledge; a wager. "Having made his bets." Goldsmith.
- verb To stake or pledge upon the event of a contingent issue; to wager.
- verb imp. & p. p. of Beat. [Obs.]
- adjective An early form of Better. [Obs.] To go bet, to go fast; to hurry. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Etymology [Prob. from OE. abet abetting, OF. abet, fr. abeter to excite, incite. See Abet.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “bet”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details