Skip to content
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

roulette

/ɹuˈlɛt/

Press play to hear how to pronounce roulette.

American Pronunciation Guide · 0:49
Watch on YouTube ↗

What does roulette mean?

noun

  1. A game of chance in which a small ball is made to move round rapidly on a circle divided off into numbered (usually red and black) spaces. When the ball stops, it indicates the result of a variety of wagers permitted by the game.
  2. (figuratively) An instance of risk-taking, especially when the downside exceeds the upside (contrary to the game of roulette where only the wager is lost).
  3. A small toothed wheel used by engravers to roll over a plate in order to produce rows of dots.
More meanings (5)

noun

  1. A similar wheel used to roughen the surface of a plate, as in making alterations in a mezzotint.
  2. The locus of a point on a plane curve that rolls without slipping along another fixed plane curve.
  3. Any of the small incisions on a sheet of stamps, used as an alternative to perforations.
  4. A cylindrical curler for the hair.

verb

  1. To separate or decorate by incisions made with a small toothed wheel.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ɹuˈlɛt/

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Afterward they drifted into a roulette parlor, and Jurgis, who was never lucky at gambling, dropped about fifteen dollars.
Upton SinclairThe JungleProject Gutenberg ebook #140
This was a game of chance similar to roulette, and for a while it completely gulfed the trusting public.
Douglas, Sir MawsonThe Home of the Blizzard Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914Project Gutenberg ebook #6137
More book examples (3)
A short distance off is heard the rattle of dice-boxes and roulette at the open-air gambling-stalls.
Henry Walter BatesThe Naturalist on the River AmazonsProject Gutenberg ebook #2440
It brought him extraordinary relief to remember that he had gone to bed in extreme ill-humor with his exploits at roulette.
Henry JamesConfidenceProject Gutenberg ebook #178
At the present day a sort of roulette is used for the same purpose by the itinerant caterers to the sweetmeat and fruit-loving little ones.
Andrew SteinmetzThe Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims. Volume 1 (of 2)Project Gutenberg ebook #466