lotto

Everyday

1. A lottery game: people buy tickets with numbers, and if their numbers are drawn they win money. tree →
2. A children's game like bingo, where you cover pictures or numbers on a card when they are called out. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life, «Lotto» is the name of national lottery games in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and parts of the USA and Canada. Adults talk about «winning the lotto». In maths, lotto is a great example of chance and probability: the chance of winning the top prize is tiny, like 1 in many millions. In stories a character who «wins the lotto» suddenly becomes rich. You must be an adult to play lotto for money.

Examples

• Grandad buys a lotto ticket every Saturday. tree →
• If I won the lotto, I would buy a horse. tree →
• The chance of winning the lotto is less than one in ten million. tree →
• We played picture lotto at nursery and I covered the cat first. tree →
• Six numbers are drawn in the lotto each week. tree →
• Our maths teacher said lotto shows why unlikely events are very unlikely. tree →
• Nobody won the lotto jackpot, so it rolls over to next week. tree →
• Gambling, including lotto, is only for adults. tree →

Note

Usually uncountable («play lotto», «win the lotto»); often written with a capital as a game name («Lotto»). Same idea as «lottery». In maths problems it is about probability: more tickets give a slightly better chance, but the chance stays very small. Myth: picking «lucky» numbers does not change your chance.