Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A game of chance, similar to lotto, that uses balls rather than counters.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A game of chance depending on the drawing of numbers.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun United States A gambling game, a variety of the game of lotto, played with balls or knobs, numbered, and cards also numbered.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A gambling game, a variety of the game of lotto, played with balls or knobs, numbered, and cards also numbered.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a game in which numbered balls are drawn at random and players cover the corresponding numbers on their cards

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French quine, set of five winning numbers (from Latin quīnī, five each; see penkwe in Indo-European roots) + -o (as in lotto).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French quine, with reference to a set of five winning lottery numbers.

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Examples

  • AUGUSTA, Maine - A legislative committee is recommending that Maine allow the bingolike video game called keno and join the multistate Mega Millions lottery as a way to generate additional revenue during the recession.

    BangorDailyNews.com - News 2010

  • AUGUSTA, Maine - A legislative committee is recommending that Maine allow the bingolike video game called keno and join the multistate Mega Millions lottery as a way to generate additional revenue during the recession.

    BangorDailyNews.com - News By Kevin Miller BDN Staff 2010

  • The little woman saw that she had got her foot into something, and she blushed and backed out, and asked the traveling man what "keno" meant.

    Peck's Compendium of Fun 1878

  • She isn't exactly clear yet what "keno" is, but she says she has sworn off taking advice from pious looking traveling men.

    Peck's Compendium of Fun 1878

  • I mean, it's only October, said Craig Brodur, who was playing keno with a friend at Northampton Convenience in western Massachusetts, which had received about 4 inches of snow by Saturday night.

    Northeast Weather: Fall To Look Like Winter This Weekend 2011

  • They took turns wandering inside the cramped shop to play a quiet hour of keno, so that they came to be seen as regulars around the Brockton neighborhood.

    DEVILS IN EXILE Chuck Hogan 2010

  • They took turns wandering inside the cramped shop to play a quiet hour of keno, so that they came to be seen as regulars around the Brockton neighborhood.

    DEVILS IN EXILE Chuck Hogan 2010

  • Until the late 1980s, slot machines served the same purpose as a well-positioned bench or chair serves for men in the context of a department or specialty store—except this time around, the slot machines were places in which to keep female gamblers occupied while the men were out on the tables losing money on blackjack, craps, keno, baccarat, or what have you.

    What Women Want Paco Underhill 2010

  • They took turns wandering inside the cramped shop to play a quiet hour of keno, so that they came to be seen as regulars around the Brockton neighborhood.

    DEVILS IN EXILE Chuck Hogan 2010

  • They took turns wandering inside the cramped shop to play a quiet hour of keno, so that they came to be seen as regulars around the Brockton neighborhood.

    DEVILS IN EXILE Chuck Hogan 2010

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