casino

IPA/kəˈsiːnəʊ/
KK[kəsˈino]IPA/kəˈsiːnəʊ/

casino — noun

  • casinosingular
  • casinosplural

1. a building where people risk money on games such as roulette, blackjack, or slot

1.nounB1
Definition

a building where people risk money on games such as roulette, blackjack, or slot machines, hoping to win more money than they started with

Example

Theo and his friends went to a casino in Macau for the weekend.

collocation: go to a casino

The new casino on the waterfront has a restaurant and a live music stage.

casino + prepositional phrase for location details

Common collocations
  • go to a casino
  • visit a casino
  • own a casino
  • work at a casino
  • casino floor
  • casino owner
  • casino resort
  • casino gambling
  • online casino
Synonyms
  • gambling house

    more formal and less common; sounds dated in everyday speech

  • gaming hall

    euphemistic term used in some official contexts

  • gambling den

    informal and negative, suggesting an illegal or secret establishment

Grammar Patterns

casino + is/are

at/in a casino

casino + noun (casino floor, casino owner)

Usage Note

Often used in the pattern 'at a casino' (location) or 'in a casino' (inside the building). The word is a countable noun: one casino, two casinos.

Common Mistakes

We played poker on the casino.
We played poker at the casino.
use 'at' for the venue, not 'on'.
I went to casino.
I went to a casino.' or 'I went to the casino.
casino is a countable noun and needs a determiner.

2. a card game, typically for two to four players, where points are earned by takin

2.nounC1
Definition

a card game, typically for two to four players, where points are earned by taking cards from the table after matching them by number or suit with cards held in hand

Example

Ravi taught his younger sister how to play casino during the summer holidays.

pattern: teach + person + how to play + casino

Beatriz studied the cards on the table and placed a seven of hearts over her opponent's seven of clubs.

concrete move: match a hand card with a table card

Common collocations
  • play casino
  • a game of casino
  • win at casino
  • casino rules
  • casino strategy
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

play casino

game of casino

casino + verb (takes, requires)

Usage Note

When referring to the card game, casino is uncountable (play casino, not *play a casino). This sense is much less common than the gambling-venue sense and is mainly encountered among card-game enthusiasts.

Common Mistakes

Let's play a casino.
Let's play casino.
as a card-game name, it takes no article.
He won the casino game.' (ambiguous)
He won at casino.
for the card game, use 'at casino' or 'a game of casino'.
Idioms

casino night

idiom

a social event where people play gambling games with pretend money or for charity, meant to feel like a casino without real betting

The school hosted a casino night to raise money for new library books.

Word family

  • casino-goer
    nounC1
  • casino-related
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three alternatives refer to places where people gamble, but they differ in register and connotation. Casino is the neutral, everyday term used for legal gambling establishments worldwide. Gambling house is older and more formal, appearing in legal documents but rarely in conversation. Gaming hall is a euphemism often used by the industry itself to avoid the negative associations of "gambling" — you might see it on the sign of a Las Vegas establishment. Gambling den, by contrast, is informal and suggests a small, secret, possibly illegal operation. A speaker might say, "They raided an underground gambling den," but would not use that word for the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

gambling housegaming hallgambling den

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • casino night
  • casino resort
  • casino floor
  • casino owner
  • online casino
  • casino gambling

Prepositions

Etymology

ItalianLatinEnglish

The word casino comes from Italian, where 'casa' means 'house' and the suffix '-ino' means 'little.' A casino was originally a small country house or social club where people gathered for music, dancing, and card games — not necessarily for gambling. Over time, the meaning shifted from any pleasure pavilion to a place specifically built for betting and gambling, especially in the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries.