Wager Meaning
/ˈweɪ.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA bet; a stake; a pledge.
nounThe subject of a bet.
Sentence Examples
What's the minimum wager?
If you want to win a wager, bet against me in a major.
I'm no betting man, but I'd take that wager.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He placed a ____ on his favorite team to win the championship game.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He made a small ____ on the result of the football match, hoping to win some extra and money today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English wajour, wageour, wager, from Old Northern French wageure, from wagier (“to pledge”) (compare Old French guagier, whence modern French gager and contemporary Walloon wadjî), ultimately from Frankish *waddjōn (“to pledge”), from Frankish *wadi ~ *waddī (“pledge”). See also wage.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"They have hired high-tech security companies to monitor wagers at a granular level and implemented sophisticated algorithmic systems to spot unusual gambling activity, ensuring that no athlete would be foolish enough to wager on a game. […] And prop bets have proved particularly ripe for manipulation. A prop bet is a wager on a specific occurrence during a game, rather than on the final result."
— 2025 October 24, Keith O’Brien, “Sports Can’t Survive Prop Bets”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 24 Oct 2025:
"Besides these Plates, the Wagers may be as the Persons please among themselves, but the Horses must be evidenced by good Testimonies to have been bred in Ireland."
— 1673, Sir William Temple, Advancement of Trade in Ireland:
"If any atheist can stake his soul for a wager against such an inexhaustible disproportion, let him never hereafter accuse others of credulity."
— 1692, Richard Bentley, [A Confutation of Atheism] (please specify the sermon), London: [Thomas Parkhurst; Henry Mortlock], published 1692–1693:
"They have hired high-tech security companies to monitor wagers at a granular level and implemented sophisticated algorithmic systems to spot unusual gambling activity, ensuring that no athlete would be foolish enough to wager on a game."
— 2025 October 24, Keith O’Brien, “Sports Can’t Survive Prop Bets”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 24 Oct 2025:
"They were wagers of warfare against the wilderness and the Indians, and founders of families and towns."
— 1912, Pocumtack Valley Memorial Association, History and Proceedings of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, page 65:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He placed a ____ on his favorite team to win the championship game.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He made a small ____ on the result of the football match, hoping to win some extra and money today.