ˈläd.ərē, -ätərē, -ä.trē, -ri noun
( -es )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle French loterie, from Middle Dutch, from lot lot + -erie -ery (from Old French); akin to Old English hlot lot — more at lot
1. : a scheme for the distribution of prizes by lot or chance ; especially : a scheme by which prizes are distributed to the winners among those persons who have paid for a chance to win them usually as determined by the numbers on tickets as drawn at random (as from a lottery wheel) — see dutch lottery , interest lottery
2. : the occasion of selection of prizes by lot
3. : an event or affair whose outcome is or seems to be determined by chance
regarded marriage as a lottery