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Lottery - 4 dictionary results
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Lottery Definition
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lot⋅ter⋅y

  [lot-uh-ree]
Use Lottery in a Sentence
–noun, plural -ter⋅ies.
1. a gambling game or method of raising money, as for some public charitable purpose, in which a large number of tickets are sold and a drawing is held for certain prizes.
2. any scheme for the distribution of prizes by chance.
3. any happening or process that is or appears to be determined by chance: to look upon life as a lottery.
Origin:
1560–70; < MD loterie (whence also F loterie). See lot, -ery
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Lottery
lot·ter·y   (lŏt'ə-rē)   
n.   pl. lot·ter·ies
  1. A contest in which tokens are distributed or sold, the winning token or tokens being secretly predetermined or ultimately selected in a random drawing.
  2. A selection made by lot from a number of applicants or competitors: The state uses a lottery to assign spaces in the campground.
  3. An activity or event regarded as having an outcome depending on fate: They considered combat duty a lottery.

[French loterie, probably from Dutch loterije, from Middle Dutch, from lot, lot.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Lottery

Lot"ter*y\, n.; pl. Lotteries. [Lot + -ery, as in brewery, bindery.]

1. A scheme for the distribution of prizes by lot or chance; esp., a gaming scheme in which one or more tickets bearing particular numbers draw prizes, and the rest of tickets are blanks. Fig. : An affair of chance.

Note: The laws of the United States and of most of the States make lotteries illegal.

2. Allotment; thing allotted. [Obs.] --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Lottery
Spanish: lotería,
German: die Lotterie,
Japanese: くじ
More Translations »

lottery 
1567, "arrangement for a distribution of prizes by chance," from It. lotteria, from same root as O.E. hlot (see lot).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Free State Lottery Info
View State Lottery Info & Payouts With Free Lottery Toolbar.
Lottery.Inbox.com
Official National Lottery
Buy your Lotto ticket online now. It could change your life!
www.national-lottery.co.uk