JACKPOT


Meaning of JACKPOT in English

ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun

Usage: often attributive

Etymology: jack (I) (playing card) + pot

1.

a.

(1) : a hand of draw poker in which every player antes in order to increase the gain to the winner and in which no player may open without a pair of jacks or better

(2) : a game of draw poker in which a pair of jacks or better is required to open — compare roodle

(3) jackpots plural but singular or plural in construction : draw poker in which every pot is a jackpot

(4) : an unusually large pot (as in the game of poker) formed by accumulation of stakes from previous play in which no decision was reached

b.

(1) : a combination on a slot machine which wins for a player a top prize or all the coins in the machine ; also : the sum so won

(2) : a large fund of money or other impressive reward formed by the accumulation of unwon prizes (as in a quiz contest)

lost TV's biggest jackpot so far — Newsweek

the jackpot question

(3) : an impressive often unexpected success or reward

lecturing all over the country with an occasional jackpot in a friendly town — H.S.Canby

2.

a. : a pool or fund contributed by a number or persons

a jackpot which sent the family on their way rejoicing — Emporia (Kan.) Gazette

b. : mail for distant separations for which a postal clerk does not immediately have room in his case and which he masses together in one box or sack for later distribution when space is available

3. chiefly West : a tight spot : jam , scrape

apt to get himself and his friends into a jackpot — Ross Santee

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.