Parlay Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

In gambling, parlay is used for a series of bets in which a person places a bet, then puts the original stake of money and all of its winnings on new wagers ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut parlay verb SaveWord par·​lay |\ˈpär-ˌlā ,-lē \ parlayed;parlaying;parlays Definitionofparlay (Entry1of2) transitiveverb 1 :tobetinaparlay 2a :toexploitsuccessfully Hehopedtoparlayhisbasketballskillsintoacollegescholarship. b :toincreaseorotherwisetransformintosomethingofmuchgreatervalue Sheparlayed$5,000andyearsofhardworkintoamultimillion-dollarcompany. parlay noun Definitionofparlay (Entry2of2) :aseriesoftwoormorebetssosetupinadvancethattheoriginalstakeplusitswinningsareriskedonthesuccessivewagers broadly :thefreshriskingofanoriginalstaketogetherwithitswinnings Didyouknow? MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutparlay Didyouknow? Ingambling,parlayisusedforaseriesofbetsinwhichapersonplacesabet,thenputstheoriginalstakeofmoneyandallofitswinningsonnewwagers.ThenouncomesfromtheFrenchnameforsuchbets:paroli.Becarefulnottomixuptheverbparlaywiththesimilarwordparley,meaning"tospeakwithanotherortoconfer." ExamplesofparlayinaSentence RecentExamplesontheWeb:Verb Post-election,therewasspeculationthe31-year-oldmightparlayhissuccessintomorecampaignwork. — CourtneyAstolfi,cleveland,23Feb.2022 Thatdeal,thoughheartbreakingformanyatthetime,eventuallyallowedGoldenStatetoparlayKevinDurant’sexitintoWigginsandKuminga. — ConnorLetourneau,SanFranciscoChronicle,21Feb.2022 Theeighth-graderatNewLifeAcademythoughtofhowhermotherboughtcandyinbulkatSam’sClubanddecidedtoparlaythatpurchaseintoapayday. — VincentT.Davis,SanAntonioExpress-News,21Feb.2022 WithalltheattentionontheCOVID-19virus,whatafantastic,missedopportunitytoparlaythatintoafocusedcampaigntoeducatethepublicabouttherisksassociatedwithobesity. — BryantStamford,TheCourier-Journal,13Jan.2022 Thequestiongoingforward,asKennethSherrill,aprofessoremeritusofpoliticalscienceatHunterCollege,putit,iswhetherAdamscanparlayhismomentintolastingsuccess. — GregoryKrieg,CNN,3Feb.2022 CompanieslikeGameStopthatareatthecenteroftherecentbuyingcrazeamongamateurinvestorswanttoparlaythehypeintoamoremeaningfulbusinessturnaround. — JuliaHorowitz,CNN,7Jan.2022 Basholli’smodestfilmplaystothestrengthsofthesmallscreen,andshouldbeabletoparlayitsSundancesuccessintowiderexposure. — JessicaKiang,Variety,3Nov.2021 TheirrepressibleJohnsonhassoughttoparlayhisroleassummithostintoahigh-profileturnintheworldspotlight. — ChristinaBoyle,LosAngelesTimes,11Nov.2021 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun What’smore,playerswillbeabletoopt-inandreceivefreebetspecials,risk-freesame-gameparlays,andparlayinsurancespecialsonNHL,NBAandcollegebasketballgames. — XlMedia,cleveland,23Feb.2022 Onepopularbethasbeensame-gameparlaybets,wheresomeonecanmakemultiplebetsononegame-anexamplebeingbetsonhowahandfulofClevelandBrownsplayersmayperform. — SeanMcdonnell,cleveland,28Jan.2022 Whiletherewasnosingleparlay-busteratUFC270likeAmandaNuneslosingatUFC269,therewereenoughunexpectedresults,upsetsandtoss-upsthatmostparlaysprobablywentthewayofthedinosaurfairlyearlyinthenight. — JoshChesler,SPIN,23Jan.2022 Thoughjust8-8,theteamcouldsneakintotheplayoffswithanunlikelyparlayofawinovertheSteelerspluslossesbytheColtsandtheChargers,andawinbythePatriots. — NewYorkTimes,4Jan.2022 Bytyingthebetstogetherinasame-gameparlay,thebettorgetsachanceatamuchlargerpayout. — BostonGlobe.com,26Oct.2021 Hedgesareafarmoreobvioustackinthecasesofmulti-teamparlaysthatreachaconcludinggame,suchasthe$30,000four-teamparlayoneDraftKingsSportsbookbettorhasridingontheClevelandBrownstonight. — LancePugmire,USATODAY,22Oct.2021 TonsofpopularpropsandsamegameparlaybetsareaddingtothehugehandleonFanDuelandothersportsbooksfortheSundayNightshowdowninFoxboro. — JayGinsbach,Forbes,3Oct.2021 OnebettortookaparlayonGame1oftheNBAplayoffseriesbetweenthePortlandTrailBlazersandDenverNuggets. — oregonlive,24May2021 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'parlay.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. FirstKnownUseofparlay Verb 1828,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1Noun 1904,inthemeaningdefinedabove HistoryandEtymologyforparlay Verb verbalderivative(perhapswithconformationtoparleyentry2orFrenchparler"tospeak")ofparoli"seriesofbetssetupsothattheoriginalstakeandwinningsareplacedonsuccessivewagers,"borrowedfromFrench,borrowedfromItalian,pluralofparolo(stressonfirstsyllable),ofuncertainorigin Note: ApparentlytheearliestattestationoftheItalianwordisintheItalian-EnglishdictionaryofJohnFlorio,QueenAnna'sNewWorldofWords,orDictionarieoftheItalianandEnglishTongues(London,1611),inwhichPároliisdefinedas"agrandpartsetorcastatdice,"withacorrespondingverbParoláre"tosetorplayatagrandpartatdice."FrenchparolifirstappearsasaglossoftheItalianwordintheItalian-FrenchdictionaryofAntoineOudin,Recherchesitaliennesetfrançoises,ouDictionnaire,contenantoutrelesmotsordinaires,unequantitédeProverbes&dePhrases(Paris,1640),whereItalianParoliisglossedas"paroli,auxdez"("paroli,atdice").C.BattistiandG.Alessio(Dizionarioetimologicoitaliano,Florence,1954)characterizeparoloasNeapolitan("vocenapoletano")andadduceadditionallySicilianpàrula"doppiapostanelgiuocodelfaraoneobassetta"("doublestakeinthegameoffaroorbasset[agamesimilartofaro]"),whichtheyavertobeaderivativeofparo"equal."OpposingtheseconjecturesistheentrypároloinalistofdialectwordsfromLuccainTuscany,alongwiththeiretymologies,compiledbySilvioPieri("Appuntietimologici,"ZeitschriftfürromanischePhilologie,Band30[1903],p.302).Pieriproposesthatthewordisauniverbationofparolo"Iofferit(holditout),"referringtothesumwagered.ThisetymologyissecondedbytheOxfordEnglishDictionary,thirdedition,andtheTrésordelalanguefrançaise. Noun derivativeofparlayentry1 LearnMoreAboutparlay Shareparlay PosttheDefinitionofparlaytoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofparlayonTwitter TimeTravelerforparlay Thefirstknownuseofparlaywas in1828 Seemorewordsfromthesameyear ListentoOurPodcastAboutparlay ThememusicbyJoshuaStamper©2006NewJerusalemMusic/ASCAP GetWordoftheDaydeliveredtoyourinbox! SignUp DictionaryEntriesNearparlay parlatory parlay parle SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforparlay LastUpdated 7Mar2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Parlay.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parlay.Accessed18Mar.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MorefromMerriam-Websteronparlay Thesaurus:Allsynonymsandantonymsforparlay BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofparlayforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY nascent SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary WhichWordDoesNotBelong? 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