bet

verb (bets, betting; past and past participle bet or betted)

• 1 [no object] risk a sum of money or valued item against someone else’s on the basis of the outcome of an unpredictable event such as a race or game:he bet on baseball games [with clause]:I would be prepared to bet that he wanted to leave [with object]:most people would bet their life savings on the prospect
• [with object and clause] risk a sum of money against (someone) on the outcome or likelihood of a future event: [with two objects]:I bet you £15 you won’t chat her up

• 2 [with clause] informal used to express certainty:I bet this place is really spooky late at night he’ll be surprised to see me, I’ll bet

noun

• an act of betting a sum of money:she had a bet on the Derby for a bet he once rode 200 miles in nine hours
• a sum of money staked:the bookies are taking bets on his possible successor
• [with adjective] informal a candidate or option offering a specified likelihood of success:City looked a good bet for victory your best bet is to call the official liquidators
• (one's bet) informal one’s opinion about a future event:my bet is that Arsenal won’t win anything