roulette

Most people know roulette as a casino game with a spinning wheel, numbered spaces, and betting chips. The word comes from French and means "little wheel." It is a game of luck: players bet, the wheel spins, and the ball decides the winner. You might hear someone talk about playing a round of roulette at a casino and hoping for a lucky result.

The word also appears in the phrase "Russian roulette," which is used for an extremely dangerous situation where a bad result could happen by chance. That meaning is metaphorical and much darker than the casino game.

Roulette is best known as a casino game with a spinning wheel divided into numbered spaces and a small ball that decides the result. Players place bets on where they think the ball will land, hoping to win money based on the odds. The name comes from French and means "little wheel," which fits the main part of the game.

The word is also sometimes used more broadly for situations that feel random or ruled by luck. For example, someone might say a company's hiring process feels like roulette if it seems unfair or based on chance instead of skill.

There is also the set phrase "Russian roulette," which refers to a very dangerous act or, more generally, to a situation where chance could lead to serious harm. Historically, the casino game developed in France in the 18th century, and today forms such as American and European roulette have slightly different rules. Whether the word refers to the casino game or is used in a figurative way, it usually suggests chance, risk, and uncertainty.