'Lottery' definitions:
Definition of 'lottery'
(from WordNet)
noun
Something that is regarded as a chance event; "the election was just a lottery to them"
noun
Players buy (or are given) chances and prizes are distributed by casting lots [syn: lottery, drawing]
Definition of 'Lottery'
From: GCIDE
- Lottery \Lot"ter*y\, n.; pl. Lotteries. [Lot + -ery, as in brewery, bindery.]
- 1. A scheme for the distribution of prizes by lot or chance; esp., a gaming scheme in which one or more tickets bearing particular numbers draw prizes, and the rest of the tickets are blanks. Fig.: An affair of chance. [1913 Webster]
- Note: The laws of the United States and of most of the States make private lotteries illegal, except in certain circumstances for charitable institutions; however, many of the states now conduct lotteries tehmselves as a revenue source. [1913 Webster +PJC]
- 2. Allotment; thing allotted. [Obs.] --Shak. [1913 Webster]