Roulette
//ɹuːˈlɛt// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A game of chance in which a small ball is made to move round rapidly on a circle divided off into numbered (usually red and black) spaces. When the ball stops, it indicates the result of a variety of wagers permitted by the game. uncountable
- 2 a gambling game in which players bet on which compartment of a revolving wheel a small ball will come to rest in wordnet
- 3 An instance of risk-taking, especially when the downside exceeds the upside (contrary to the game of roulette where only the wager is lost). figuratively, uncountable
"Doctors and health officials said that the WRC-TV documentary, "DPT: Vaccine Roulette," emphasized the risks of the vaccine while ignoring the dangers of the disease, which has been almost wiped out in this country."
- 4 a wheel with teeth for making a row of perforations wordnet
- 5 A small toothed wheel used by engravers to roll over a plate in order to produce rows of dots. countable
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 a line generated by a point on one figure rolling around a second figure wordnet
- 7 A similar wheel used to roughen the surface of a plate, as in making alterations in a mezzotint. countable
- 8 The locus of a point on a plane curve that rolls without slipping along another fixed plane curve. countable
- 9 Any of the small incisions on a sheet of stamps, used as an alternative to perforations. countable, uncountable
- 10 A cylindrical curler for the hair. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To separate or decorate by incisions made with a small toothed wheel.
"to roulette a sheet of postage stamps"
Example
More examples"The roulette is not only about luck."
Etymology
Borrowed from French roulette (“roulette, little wheel”). The sense "situation with a random chance of incurring serious harm" may be abstracted from Russian roulette.
Related phrases
More for "roulette"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.