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Definition of "sweepstakes" [sweep•stakes]

  • A lottery in which the participants' contributions form a fund that is awarded as a prize to one or several winners. (noun-plural)
  • An event or contest, especially a horserace, the result of which determines the winner of such a lottery. (noun-plural)
  • The prize won in such a lottery. (noun-plural)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "sweepstakes" in a sentence
  • "The Lebron James sweepstakes is fast approaching its end."
  • "Remington's entry in the short, light and handy bolt action rifle sweepstakes is the Model Seven."
  • "Suddenly, these two men who just a few years ago proclaimed their deep belief in the rights of women regarding reproductive freedom, equal rights for gay couples and the rights of illegal immigrant workers to go to an emergency room were out-contorting each other in the euphemism sweepstakes to 'clarify' their former tolerance as actually intolerance, and 're-positioning' their previous progressive ways as actually carefully nuanced regressive hatred."
Words like "sweepstakes"