lottery
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++lot·te·ry /ˈlɒtəri $ ˈlɑː-/ ●○○ noun (plural lotteries) 1 [countable]DGG a game used to make money for a state or a charity in which people buy tickets with a series of numbers on them. If their number is picked by chance, they win money or a prize 抽彩给奖法 → raffle, draw a lottery ticket 彩票 Do you really think winning the lottery would make you happy? 你真的认为彩票中奖会带给你幸福吗？national/state lottery 全国的/州的彩票抽奖2 [countable, uncountable] American English a system of deciding who will get something by choosing people’s names by chance 随机选择by lottery The State Department issues 55,000 visas each year by lottery. 国务院每年随机签发55,000张签证。3 a lottery a situation in which what happens depends on chance and is not certain to be successful 碰运气的事 That’s the trouble with capitalism. It’s a lottery. 那是资本主义的问题所在，它靠的是运气。
Examples from the Corpus
lottery• Nine hundred Maine residents and 100 nonresidents had their names drawn from a lottery.• But it was a lottery and lotteries were undesirable.• They have spent a lifetime playing the birth lottery.• the NFL draft lottery• They will hate you with a loathing reserved for lottery winners.• A baby's sex is a genetic lottery. It all depends on the chromosomes the baby receives from its parents.• Franken also avoided military service with student deferments while at Harvard and, ultimately, a high lottery number.• The organisers of the pools believe that huge jackpots are their best weapon in fighting the threat posed by a national lottery.• They had been playing the lottery together for more than a year, and they trusted him.• Similarly, if you have just won the lottery, go to an adviser who specialises in high net worth individuals.winning the lottery• My winning the lottery is improbable, because there are so many sequences of numbers other than mine that could come up.• Compare that with the one-in-14m chance of winning the lottery in Britain.• To stand a chance of winning the lottery, you need lots of different tickets.• The prize has been called the equivalent for a novelist of winning the lottery.by lottery• The State Department issues 55,000 visas each year by lottery.From Longman Business Dictionarylotterylot‧te‧ry /ˈlɒtəriˈlɑː-/ noun (plural lotteries)1[countable] a game of chance in which people buy tickets with numbers on and some people win prizes. Lotteries are often used to raise money for the government or for a CHARITYThe national lottery generates substantial additional funds for charities and other good causes.a lottery winner2[singular] when what happens depends on chance or luckThe stock market is too much of a lottery.Origin lottery (1500-1600) French loterie, from Middle Dutch, from lot “lot”lot·te·ry nounChineseSyllable
Corpus a Business used game make to money
lottery
lot‧te‧ry /ˈlɒtəri $ ˈlɑː-/
noun (plural lotteries)
a lottery ticket
Do you really think winning the lottery would make you happy?
national/state lottery
2. [uncountable and countable] American English a system of deciding who will get something by choosing people’s names by chance
by lottery
The State Department issues 55,000 visas each year by lottery.
3. a lottery a situation in which what happens depends on chance and is not certain to be successful:
That’s the trouble with capitalism. It’s a lottery.
lot‧te‧ry /ˈlɒtəri $ ˈlɑː-/
noun (plural lotteries) Date: 1500-1600
Language: French
Origin: loterie, from Middle Dutch, from lot 'lot'
1. [countable] a game used to make money for a state or a charity in which people buy tickets with a series of numbers on them. If their number is picked by chance, they win money or a prize ⇨ raffle, draw:Language: French
Origin: loterie, from Middle Dutch, from lot 'lot'
national/state lottery
2. [uncountable and countable] American English a system of deciding who will get something by choosing people’s names by chance
by lottery
3. a lottery a situation in which what happens depends on chance and is not certain to be successful:
often