Meaning & use
lottery system
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A method of choosing people or giving out something by chance rather than by skill or planning.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a lottery system' or 'lottery systems'.
Patterns
- a lottery system for something
- use a lottery system
- be chosen by a lottery system
The school uses a lottery system to decide which children get a place.
Under the new lottery system, tickets are drawn at random each week.
Some countries have a lottery system for allocating visas.
nouncountable
The official organization or set of rules that runs a game in which numbered tickets are sold and prizes are given to holders of winning numbers.
Grammar: Usually singular when talking about one country's official lottery.
Patterns
- run a lottery system
- the national lottery system
- a state lottery system
The state lottery system raises money for public projects.
He criticized the lottery system for encouraging poor people to gamble.
The lottery system is regulated by the government.
Word forms
| plural | lottery systems |
|---|
Common combinations
- a lottery system for
- They introduced a lottery system for distributing scarce resources.
- be chosen by a lottery system
- The winners were chosen by a lottery system, not by judges.
- operate a lottery system
- The charity operates a lottery system to raise funds.
- a national lottery system
- A national lottery system can generate huge revenues.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lottery
- The shorter word often refers just to the game itself, while 'lottery system' emphasizes the method or organization.
- raffle
- A raffle is a type of lottery, usually for a charity or small prize, not a national system.
- draw
- A draw is the single act of picking winners; a lottery system is the whole arrangement.
Word family
- lottery noun
- A game of chance in which tickets are sold and prizes are given to winners.
- lotteries noun
- Plural of lottery.
Commonly confused: lottery system or lottery?
lottery system vs lottery
People sometimes say 'lottery' when they mean the whole system; 'lottery system' is more specific about the method or organization.
Practice
The university uses a ______ to allocate dormitory rooms, so it's purely a matter of luck.
Choose one answer.
The singular 'lottery system' fits because 'a' requires a singular countable noun. 'Lottery systems' is plural and would need 'use' without 'a'. 'Lottery's system' is possessive and does not mean a method of chance. 'System lottery' reverses the usual word order.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lottery system”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.