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Webster 1913 Edition


Lottery

Lot′ter-y

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Lotteries
(#)
.
[
Lot
+
-ery
, as in brewe
ry
, bind
ery
.]
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.
2.
Allotment; thing allotted.
[Obs.]
Shak.

Webster 1828 Edition


Lottery

LOT'TERY

,
Noun.
[See Lot.]
1.
A scheme for the distribution of prizes by chance, or the distribution itself. Lotteries are often authorized by law, but many good men deem them immoral in principle, and almost all men concur in the opinion that their effects are pernicious.
2.
Allotment. [Not used.]

Definition 2024


lottery

lottery

English

Noun

lottery (plural lotteries)

  1. A scheme for the distribution of prizes by lot or chance, especially a gaming scheme in which one or more tickets bearing particular numbers draw prizes, the other tickets are blanks.
  2. (figuratively) An affair of chance.
  3. (obsolete, Shakespeare) Allotment; a thing allotted.

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