English

Alternative forms

• parimutuel

Noun

pari-mutuel ‎(plural pari-mutuels)

1. (horse racing) Any betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and a house take are removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all placed bets. [from 19th c.]
2. A booth used to place such bets, or a machine used to record bets and calculate payoffs. [from 19th c.]
   • 1929, Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms, Folio Society 2008, p. 129:

     The Italian were full of manners and McAdams talked to Catherine while we went down to bet again. Mr Meyers was standing near the pari-mutuel.

See also

• breakage