From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_707_zbetbet1 /bet/ ●●● S1 verb (past tense and past participle bet, present participle betting) 1 [intransitive, transitive]DGG to risk money on the result of a race, game, competition, or other future event → gamble How much do you want to bet?bet (somebody) that He bet me £10 that I wouldn’t do it.bet (something) on something She bet all her money on a horse that came last.bet against I wouldn’t bet against him winning the championship this year.2 → I bet/I’ll bet3 → you bet!4 → (do you) want to bet?/wanna bet?5 → don’t bet on it/I wouldn’t bet on it6 → you (can) bet your life/your bottom dollar7 → bet the farm/ranch→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
bet• Fun and exciting, you bet, but is this the way to the Super Bowl?• I bet he had the fish cakes.• It became an offence for anyone in charge of children to allow them to bet in public places or to enter brothels.• Albert bowed over the girl's hand - Caro would bet it wasn't his wife.• I'll bet that made her mad!• Should your management bet the company on a high-risk business strategy?• Crumwallis - I would bet - was sexually attracted, whether he understood that himself, or not.• Yeah, he says, I bet you a dollar.• I bet you taste real good Ram.bet (somebody) that• And I got on at 50-1 immediately after that race, and had a fair bet.• And throws back his head and laughs out loud at the way the guys hustled to get their bets down.• You can't have a safer bet than that!• You know how he always liked to bet.• Whether Tendulkar rather than McDermott will be the best bet in that direction remains open to question.• The second bet is that drawing a red marble wins £1000, drawing a blue marble wins nothing.• My bet is that the airline had just been temporarily frightened.betbet2 ●●● S3 noun [countable] 1 DGGan agreement to risk money on the result of a race, game etc or on something happening, or the money that you risk a £50 betbet on A few of us had a bet on who’d get married first.place/put/lay a bet We placed bets on three horses. Bookmakers are already taking bets on the outcome.win/lose a bet If he scores now, I’ll win my bet.2 → your best bet3 → a good/safe bet4 → it’s a safe/sure/fair bet (that)5 → my bet6 → do something for a betCOLLOCATIONSverbshave a betAre you going to have a bet on the race?place/put/lay a bet on somethingShe placed a bet on a horse called Beethoven.take a bet (=accept someone's money as part of a bet)They're taking bets on the result of the election now.win a betFrance won the game and I won my bet.lose a betIf I have a bet, I always lose it.make a bet (=risk money on the way a situation will develop in future)If you want to make money on the stock market, you have to start making bets. Examples from the Corpus
bet• a $50 bet• He blamed an October snowstorm in Denver for losing a $ 500 bet on the Broncos.• Ira Sanchez offered a bet and the bookie took it on the nod.• With our last two food dollars he placed still another bet and lost.• A: Your best bet is to change your behavior and wait it out.• Each of us invested ten shillings and we met to decide our bets.• The highest yields are from a risky bet, while security means a lower rate of interest.• Balvinder jumped up and down, punched the air, then promptly confronted the man with whom he had made the bet.• Digges argued that the Watch was way off, as was the island, and offered to lay odds on the bet.bet on• In Oregon, ticket buyers can bet on sports games.From Longman Business Dictionarybetbet1 /bet/ verb (past tense and past participle bet or betted, present participle betting) [intransitive, transitive]FINANCE1to risk money on a future event, for example by investing in a company or product or buying stocks or sharesbet (something) onInvestors were willing to bet on the company, and its shares jumped $1.94 to $9.06.The New Jersey fund has bet $40 million on small stocks.bet (somebody) thatThe market bet heavily that the dollar would fall.2bet the farm/ranch American English informal to risk a lot of money on a future event, for example by investing in a company or product or buying stocks or sharesDo we really want to bet the ranch on this deal?→ See Verb tablebetbet2 noun [countable]FINANCE when you risk money on a future event, for example by investing in a company or product or buying stocks or sharesThey like selling short, or making a bet that share prices will decline.Shearson placed a big bet on junk bonds and lost.a huge $11 billion bet on US interest rates that went wrongOrigin bet2 (1500-1600) Perhaps from abet “support, help” ((14-16 centuries)), from abet “to help” 