A contest or lottery where people pay to enter and winners receive prizes, or the entire sum of money collected from all entries.
From 'sweep' (to gather up) and 'stake' (money wagered). Originally in horse racing, spectators would pool money that 'swept' all bets together into a prize pot.
The word sweepstakes literally comes from someone sweeping together all the money from everyone's bets into one big pile—that's the 'sweep.' You're not just winning your own stake back; you're winning all the stakes that everyone else put in!
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