Pronunciation: ˌ per-i- ' myü-ch ə -w ə l, -ch ə l, ˌ pa-ri-; - ' myüch-w ə l
Function: noun
Etymology: French pari mutuel, literally, mutual stake
Date: 1881
1 : a betting pool in which those who bet on competitors finishing in the first three places share the total amount bet minus a percentage for the management
2 : a machine for registering the bets and computing the payoffs in pari-mutuel betting