noun

• 1North American informal A gambler who makes only small bets.

  More example sentences

  • ‘He had a temperament too generous for his occupation as our county's leading piker (my mother insisted to her clients he was a speculator, not a gambler).’

  Synonyms

  backer, staker, speculator, risk-taker, better

  1. 1.1A mean or cautious person.
• 2Australian, New Zealand informal A person who withdraws from a plan, commitment, etc.

  More example sentences

  • ‘There were a number of pikers to the dinner, including Mrs Lefty, who was stuck at work doing reports until about 9.30 pm.’
  • ‘It seems rather apropos that everyone else found it too much hassle to enter - pikers!’
  • ‘In terms of brutality, systematic repression, number of killings, relish for torture and sum total of human misery caused, he was a piker next to that tyrant.’
  • ‘I was the ultimate piker, early-nighter, spoil-sport, party-pooper, etc.’
  • ‘Not that that isn't fun, but I'm a first class piker who refuses to do it too much.’