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# bookmaker

noun (a bookmaker, bookmakers)

«bookmaker» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A person or company that takes bets on horse races, football matches and other events and pays out if people win. Also called a «bookie». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bookmaker/#m1)
2. (rare) A person who makes or prints books. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bookmaker/#m2)

### In the lessons

In money and adult-life lessons, a bookmaker is part of gambling, which is only for adults (18+ in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand; it varies in the USA and Canada) and can lead to losing money. «Betting shop» or «the bookies» is where adults place bets. In maths, the odds a bookmaker gives link to probability.

### Examples

- The bookmaker offered odds of 5 to 1 on the horse. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bookmaker/#x1)
- Gambling with a bookmaker is only for adults. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bookmaker/#x2)
- Grandad says the bookmaker always wins in the end. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bookmaker/#x3)
- There is a bookmaker's shop on the high street. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bookmaker/#x4)
- The bookmaker took bets on the cup final. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bookmaker/#x5)
- My uncle lost money at the bookmaker's. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bookmaker/#x6)
- Long ago, a bookmaker could also mean someone who bound books. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bookmaker/#x7)

### Note

Countable: a bookmaker, bookmakers. Informal: bookie. «The bookmaker's» means the shop. Maths note: odds of 5 to 1 mean if you bet 1 pound and win, you get 5 pounds plus your 1 pound back; bookmakers set odds so that, overall, they make money.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «bookmaker» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bookmaker/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«bookmaker» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/bookmaker.html) on Mova free.