bet

Pronunciation: /ˈbɛt/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the money risked on a gamble
  2. noun the act of gambling
  3. verb maintain with or as if with a bet

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

stake, stakes, wager

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
gamble
Narrower (hyponyms)
ante, pool, pot

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