Reference > American Heritage® > Dictionary
  gambusia game2  
CONTENTS · INDEX · ILLUSTRATIONS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD
   The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.  2000.
 
game1
 
PRONUNCIATION:  gm
NOUN:1. An activity providing entertainment or amusement; a pastime: party games; word games. 2a. A competitive activity or sport in which players contend with each other according to a set of rules: the game of basketball; the game of gin rummy. b. A single instance of such an activity: We lost the first game. c. games An organized athletic program or contest: track-and-field games; took part in the winter games. d. A period of competition or challenge: It was too late in the game to change the schedule of the project. 3a. The total number of points required to win a game: One hundred points is game in bridge. b. The score accumulated at any given time in a game: The game is now 14 to 12. 4. The equipment needed for playing certain games: packed the children's games in the car. 5. A particular style or manner of playing a game: improved my tennis game with practice. 6. Informal a. An active interest or pursuit, especially one involving competitive engagement or adherence to rules: “the way the system operates, the access game, the turf game, the image game” (Hedrick Smith). b. A business or occupation; a line: the insurance game. c. An illegal activity; a racket. 7. Informal a. Evasive, trifling, or manipulative behavior: wanted a straight answer, not more of their tiresome games. b. A calculated strategy or approach; a scheme: I saw through their game from the very beginning. 8. Mathematics A model of a competitive situation that identifies interested parties and stipulates rules governing all aspects of the competition, used in game theory to determine the optimal course of action for an interested party. 9a. Wild animals, birds, or fish hunted for food or sport. b. The flesh of these animals, eaten as food. 10a. An object of attack, ridicule, or pursuit: The press considered the candidate's indiscretions to be game. b. Mockery; sport: The older children teased and made game of the newcomer.
VERB:Inflected forms: gamed, gam·ing, games
TRANSITIVE VERB: Archaic To waste or lose by gambling.
INTRANSITIVE VERB: To play for stakes; gamble.
ADJECTIVE:Inflected forms: gam·er, gam·est
1. Plucky and unyielding in spirit; resolute: She put up a game fight against her detractors. 2. Ready and willing: Are you game for a swim?
IDIOMS:ahead of the game In a position of advantage; winning or succeeding. the only game in town Informal The only one of its kind available: “He's the only game in town for the press to write about” (Leonard Garment).
ETYMOLOGY:Middle English, from Old English gamen.
OTHER FORMS:gamelyADVERB
gamenessNOUN
 
 
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

CONTENTS · INDEX · ILLUSTRATIONS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD
  gambusia game2  
 
Google
Click here to shop the Bartleby Bookstore.
Welcome · Press · Advertising · Linking · Terms of Use · © 2008 Bartleby.com