roulette

Meaning

Noun

1. (uncountable) 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, uncountable) 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. (countable) A small toothed wheel used by engravers to roll over a plate in order to produce rows of dots.
4. (countable) A similar wheel used to roughen the surface of a plate, as in making alterations in a mezzotint.
5. (countable) The locus of a point on a plane curve that rolls without slipping along another fixed plane curve.
6. (countable, uncountable) Any of the small incisions on a sheet of stamps, used as an alternative to perforations.
7. (countable, uncountable) A cylindrical curler for the hair.

Verb

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

Synonyms

line roulette

toothed wheel

trochoid

gambling game

roulette wheel

cycloid

knurling cutter

gearwheel

Translations

roulette

roulette

Roulette

roleta

ruleta

roulette

ruleta

rulet

rueda dentada

ruleta perforadora

rulletta

Zahnrad

Roulett

ρουλέτα

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɹuːˈlɛt/

Etymology

Borrowed from French roulette (“roulette, little wheel”). The sense "situation with a random chance of incurring serious harm" may be abstracted from Russian roulette.