(~s, ~ting)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
Note: The form '~' is used in the present tense and is the past tense and past participle.
1.
If you ~ on the result of a horse race, football game, or other event, you give someone a sum of money which they give you back with extra money if the result is what you predicted, or which they keep if it is not.
Jockeys are forbidden to ~ on the outcome of races...
I ~ ?10 on a horse called Premonition...
He ~ them 500 pounds they would lose.
VERB: V on n, V amount on n, V n amount that
•
Bet is also a noun.
Do you always have a ~ on the Grand National?
N-COUNT
~ting
...his thousand-pound fine for illegal ~ting.
...~ting shops.
N-UNCOUNT
2.
A ~ is a sum of money which you give to someone when you ~.
You can put a ~ on almost anything these days.
N-COUNT
3.
If someone is ~ting that something will happen, they are hoping or expecting that it will happen. (JOURNALISM)
The party is ~ting that the presidential race will turn into a battle for younger voters...
People were ~ting on a further easing of credit conditions.
VERB: only cont, V that, V on n
4.
see also ~ting
5.
You use expressions such as ‘I ~’, ‘I’ll ~’, and ‘you can ~’ to indicate that you are sure something is true. (INFORMAL)
I ~ you were good at games when you were at school...
I’ll ~ they’ll taste out of this world...
PHRASE
6.
If you tell someone that something is a good ~, you are suggesting that it is the thing or course of action that they should choose. (INFORMAL)
Your best ~ is to choose a guest house.
PHRASE
7.
If you say that it is a good ~ or a safe ~ that something is true or will happen, you are saying that it is extremely likely to be true or to happen. (INFORMAL)
It is a safe ~ that the current owners will not sell.
PHRASE: usu it v-link PHR that
8.
If you hedge your ~s, you follow two courses of action to avoid making a decision ~ween two things because you cannot decide which one is right.
NASA is hedging its ~s and adopting both strategies.
= play safe
PHRASE: V inflects
9.
You use I ~ or I’ll ~ in reply to a statement to show that you agree with it or that you expected it to be true, usually when you are annoyed or amused by it. (INFORMAL, SPOKEN)
‘I’d like to ask you something,’ I said. ‘I ~ you would,’ she grinned.
PHRASE: oft PHR that feelings
10.
You can use my ~ is or it’s my ~ to give your personal opinion about something, when you are fairly sure that you are right. (INFORMAL)
My ~ is that next year will be different...
It’s my ~ that he’s the guy behind this killing.
PHRASE
11.
If you say don’t ~ on something or I wouldn’t ~ on something, you mean that you do not think that something is true or will happen. (INFORMAL, SPOKEN)
‘We’ll never get a table in there’—‘Don’t ~ on it.’
PHRASE
12.
If you reply ‘Do you want to ~?’ or ‘Want a ~?’ to someone, you mean you are certain that what they have said is wrong. (INFORMAL, SPOKEN)
‘Money can’t buy happiness’—‘Want to ~?’
CONVENTION
13.
You use ‘You ~’ or ‘you ~ your life’ to say yes in an emphatic way or to emphasize a reply or statement. (INFORMAL, SPOKEN)
‘It’s settled, then?’—‘You ~.’...
‘Are you afraid of snakes?’—‘You ~ your life I’m afraid of snakes.’
PHRASE emphasis