Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
sweepstakes

sweepstakes

30 5.7
A contest where people enter to win a prize by chance
  • noun
  • /ˈswipˌsteɪks/
  • US
: sorteo
  • Here at Sweepstakes Lovers, we monitor the Internet to find every single online sweepstakes.
  • win the sweepstakes

Hashtag Slice for a year on Twitter for entry into Pizza for year sweepstakes.

Examples

  • To participate in the sweepstakes, you must fill out the entry form online.

  • The Gaylord Hotels Christmas DreamWorks Experience Online Sweepstakes (the "Sweepstakes") begins at 10 a.m.

    Blog text (14)

  • Grand Prize Winner must supply Sweepstakes Entities with his or her social security number for tax purposes.

    Blog text (12)

  • Did you enter the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes?

    Baggage Claim (2013)

  • If your candidate loses, you get one entry into the Sweepstakes.

    Blog text (8)

  • The odds of winning the Sweepstakes depend on the number of eligible entries received.

    Blog text (12)

  • But I'm the only one who gets to meet him, because I won the Twippo Sweepstakes.

    Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002)

  • For a chance to win The Gaylord Hotels Christmas DreamWorks Experience Online Sweepstakes, just fill out the form below.

    Blog text (14)

  • We won the Mr. Twisty's Twisted Cheese Curl Sweepstakes!

    Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002)

  • Jewelry Information Center's "A Little Bit of Bling" Sweepstakes runs through November 13, 2012, at 12:00 PM EST.

    Blog text (7)

Synonyms

contest
vssweepstakes
837 2.4

A competition between people or groups to win something

is decided by chance rather than by direct competition or skill
lottery
vssweepstakes
219 2.3

A game where people buy numbered tickets and winners are chosen by chance

is a broader chance contest not limited to numbered ticket fundraisers
lotto
vssweepstakes
41 4.4

A game where players mark numbers on a card and hope to win money

is a broader chance contest not limited to matching numbers
drawing
vssweepstakes
23 3.8

An event where winners are chosen by chance from tickets

is the full competition rather than just the selection event
to raffle
vssweepstakes
5 3.3

To offer an item as a prize by selling numbered tickets

chooses winners by chance without focusing on ticket sales
sweepstake
vssweepstakes
1 3.7

A competition where people buy tickets and one person wins the money

is like that but emphasizes prizes often come from participants

How Attractive

freebie
  • Informal
4 2.8
sweepstakes
  • US
30 5.7
sales incentive
  • Specialized
1 3.8
to coupon
  • US
1 4.8
discount
308 1.0

Surface Forms

sweepstakes singular
sweepstakes plural

Morphology

sweepstakes = sweep + stake (semi-transparent) = sweep + stake + s

The components 'sweep' and 'stake(s)' are recognizable, but the idiomatic meaning ('a prize draw') and the historical sense 'to sweep the stakes' are not fully obvious to learners.

Etymology

The word sweepstakes comes from the parts sweep meaning 'to take everything' and stakes meaning 'bets' or 'prizes', because in old contests the winner would 'sweep' all the stakes. So a sweepstakes is a contest where someone can win the prizes, often by chance.