Home UK English bingo

Meaning of bingo in English:

bingo

Pronunciation /ˈbɪŋɡəʊ/

See synonyms for bingo on Thesaurus.com

Translate bingo into Spanish

noun

  • A game in which players mark off numbers on cards as the numbers are drawn randomly by a caller, the winner being the first person to mark off all their numbers.

    as modifier ‘a bingo hall’
    • ‘Once, working in a bingo hall, a caller asked him what he wanted to do with his life and Kay confessed he wasn't sure.’
    • ‘As anyone who lives in York knows, the opening of the new bingo hall marks the end of the road for the old Rialto.’
    • ‘A loyal bingo player, a game she loved and hated to miss.’
    • ‘Bermudians will still be able to gamble on horse racing, the football pools, in the bingo halls and on internet gaming sites.’
    • ‘The lucky winner of the bingo pool of E130 was Eileen Keveaney.’
    • ‘The ten finalists were drawn randomly from a bingo machine and each one made their way up to the stage where they picked a key.’
    • ‘Michael Mooney from Ahena was the lucky winner of the E300 bingo jackpot in the Town Hall last Thursday night week.’
    • ‘Other former department stores are now a bingo hall and a billiards parlor.’
    • ‘Its profits jumped 16% as the Mecca bingo halls continued to draw in the punters.’
    • ‘Card games, bingo games and dart-throwing competitions, all played for money, are endemic.’
    • ‘Its members also enjoy bingo every Tuesday night with the bingo cards supplied for the entire year by the association.’
    • ‘After finishing the supper there was Bingo and Door prizes, the bingo games were called by Jack Fraser assisted by Brain Close.’
    • ‘Looking more carefully, I see it is set up like a bingo card with rows and columns and animated illustrations that each has a life of its own.’
    • ‘Anyone who had one of the bingo cards that had been pushed through people's letterboxes could therefore play the game without buying a newspaper.’
    • ‘After you print out the bingo cards, you watch selected episodes to match up words and activities to your card!’
    • ‘Multimedia installs the slot-machine-like bingo player stations free of charge.’
    • ‘They used to return all the money spent buying bingo cards to the players, with no rake-off.’
    • ‘McKenzie has a promising career as a bingo caller if he tires of television.’
    • ‘Many festivals have had performers, narrators, door prizes and a bingo game made to fit the theme.’
    • ‘The internet is a major gambling hall for punters where they play poker bingo cards whatever; gamblers even get to play lotto online.’
    raffle, draw, prize draw, sweepstake, sweep, bingo, lotto, tombola, drawing of lots, pools

exclamation

  • 1A call by someone who wins a game of bingo.

    ‘Someone called out numbers and if you filled in a whole line, you yelled "Bingo" and got a set of dishes or something.’
    • ‘A beano player was excited and yelled Bingo instead of Beano and that's how Bingo was born.’
    • ‘I was losing badly, but Jessica came within one space of winning when finally, someone yelled "Bingo!’
    • ‘Whenever anyone yelled the magic "bingo," people groaned and just about threw their daubers around the room.’
    • ‘We yelled "bingo!"’

  • 2Used to express satisfaction at a sudden positive event or outcome.

    ‘Just swipe the pen over a bar code and bingo! The recorder's programmed itself’
    • ‘When you throw in sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, bingo!’
    • ‘Add some scented climbers and a well thought-out colour scheme - bingo!’
    • ‘A quiet Sunday at home might do wonders for both of us, and if it brings you on, then - bingo!’
    • ‘Simply look at the heels of your everyday shoes, and if the inner-heel area is wearing down faster than the rest of the heel - bingo!’
    • ‘Hearing some ruckus in Stuart's apartment, Kate peeks her head though his window from the fire escape and - bingo!’
    • ‘Joining and alighting, for two well-separated weeks; multiply up to make a year's use, and - bingo!’
    • ‘Well, just cut the rate of interest in half three or four more times and: bingo!’
    • ‘These guys literally dangle an Airport base station onto a DSL connection they already have, and - bingo!’
    • ‘I felt the cold metal of the electronic device rub against my warm skin, bingo!’
    • ‘All King Kev needs to do now is to get his team playing like that for the full 90 minutes every week and… bingo!’
    • ‘The central banker tips you off to place your bet that the bond price will go up, and, bingo!’
    • ‘It seemed normal practice to make up some previous experience, put in a primed friend's name and number as a reference and, bingo, work rolled in.’
    • ‘Now, thanks to technology, you type in any postcode on the computer and, bingo, the name of the local MP appears in a nanosecond.’
    • ‘So reunite with the old girlfriend or boyfriend and, bingo, you'll find the peace and simplicity of youth again.’
    • ‘Pay your rent, pay your telephone, buy your groceries, see the doctor - bingo, it's gone.’
    • ‘Massage gently to mix and, bingo, you have a dose of high-protein tuna that's ready to go.’
    • ‘The Angels agree to give in a little to let the player win and, bingo, you've got yourself a deal at or near $8.5 million.’

Origin

1920s (as exclamation): of unknown origin.