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high roller

high roller

25 5.6
A person who gambles or spends very large amounts of money, often in casinos
  • noun
  • /haɪ ˈroʊlər/
translation icon : gran apostador
  • She always dines at the finest restaurants, living the life of a high roller.
  • Vegas high rollers
  • high-roller suite
  • high-roller casino

And so I wasn't living this big High Roller life.

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Examples

Synonyms

gambler
vshigh roller
115 3.4

A person who risks money on games or races hoping to win more

involves much larger sums often in casinos or entertainment venues
big spender
vshigh roller
15 4.2

A person who buys many expensive things to show off

most often spends or gambles very large sums in casinos or entertainment
gamesman
vshigh roller
  • Archaic
8.1

A person who plays games for money, for example at a casino

focuses on very large spending or gambling especially in casinos

How Much

whale
  • Jargon
22 8.2
high roller
25 5.6
big spender
15 4.2
spender
34 2.1
penny pincher
  • Informal
1 5.8

Surface Forms

high roller singular
high rollers plural

Morphology

high + roller

The modifier 'high' clearly signals large or above-normal amounts, and the noun shape ('-er' agent) can suggest 'a person associated with X', so learners might infer someone associated with large sums. However, 'roller' does not transparently mean 'gambler' or 'big spender', and the specific casino/gambling sense is idiomatic and not directly derivable from the parts, so prior exposure is usually needed.

Etymology

High roller may come from old gambling rooms, where a roller rolled dice or moved chips and the word high showed they were making very large bets. So it means 'a person who spends or gambles large amounts of money'.