/ bet; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb ( bet·ting , bet , bet )
1.
bet (sth) (on / against sth) to risk money on a race or an event by trying to predict the result :
[ v ]
You have to be over 16 to bet.
[ vn ]
He bet $2 000 on the final score of the game.
[ vnn ]
She bet me £20 that I wouldn't do it.
[also v that , vn that ]
—see also betting , gamble
2.
( informal ) used to say that you are almost certain that sth is true or that sth will happen : [ v ( that )]
I bet (that) we're too late.
You can bet (that) the moment I sit down, the phone will ring.
[ vn ( that )]
I'll bet you (that) he knows all about it.
•
IDIOMS
- I / I'll bet!
- I wouldn't bet on it | don't bet on it
- you bet!
- you can bet your life / your bottom dollar (on sth / (that) ... )
■ noun
1.
an arrangement to risk money, etc. on the result of a particular event; the money that you risk in this way :
to win / lose a bet
We've got a bet on who's going to arrive first.
He had a bet on the horses.
'Liverpool are bound to win.' 'Do you want a bet?' (= I disagree with you, I don't think they will.)
They all put a bet on the race.
I hear you're taking bets on whether she'll marry him.
I did it for a bet (= because sb had agreed to pay me money if I did) .
2.
( informal ) an opinion about what is likely to happen or to have happened :
My bet is that they've been held up in traffic.
•
IDIOMS
- the / your best bet
- a good / safe bet
—more at hedge verb
••
WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent.: perhaps a shortening of the obsolete noun abet abetment .