# bet

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbɛt/ · frequency rank #1,684

## Definitions
1. A wager, an agreement between two parties that a stake (usually money) will be paid by the loser to the winner (the winner being the one who correctly forecast the outcome of an event).
2. A candidate (for elections and pageants) or competitor (in multinational sports).
3. Indicating a degree of certainty, or that something can be relied upon.

## Etymology
From 16th-century criminal slang, perhaps from Middle English bet (“something better, advantage, luck”), from Old English bet, bett (“better”, adverb); or, alternatively from abet, from Middle English abet, abette, from Old French abet (“incitement to evil”), from Old French abeter (“to entice”), from a- (“to”) + beter (“hound on, urge, to bait”); ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *baitijan (“to bait, entice”), related to Old English bǣtan (“to bait”). More at abet.

## Easily confused with
- **by** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-by)
- **bi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-bi)
- **BS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-bs)
- **bo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-bo)
- **br** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-br)
- **Bt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-bt)
- **BP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-bp)
- **bf** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-bf)
- **BL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-bl)
- **BM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-bm)
- **bn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-bn)
- **BG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-bg)
- **BJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-bj)
- **BW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-bw)
- **BH** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-bh)
- **BX** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-bx)
- **but** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-but)
- **big** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-big)
- **bit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-bit)
- **buy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-buy)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bet