make book

verb

To gamble, either by placing or taking bets.

“Near-synonym: bet one's bottom dollar”

Similar
bet one's bottom dollar
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Meanings

verbmake book (third-person singular simple present makes book, present participle making book, simple past and past participle made book)

present singular third person makes book · participle present making book · participle past made book · past made book

  1. idiomaticTo gamble, either by placing or taking bets.

    In the American League, front-running Cleveland was an odds-on favorite with the men who make book on baseball.

    1954 August 30, “Into the Stretch”, in Time
    1 more example

    [Connie:] How is Mrs Miller? [Mr Miller:] She doesn't understand me. [Connie:] I could have made book on that answer.

    1962, Stanley Shapiro, Nate Monaster, That Touch of Mink
  2. idiomaticTo be very confident; to be sure.

    Near-synonym: bet one's bottom dollar

    1 more example

    "Oh, you can make book that she didn't start no love-making. She ain't the kind to curl up in a man's ear and whisper."

    1909, Rex Ellingwood Beach, chapter 25, in The Silver Horde

    Synonyms: bet one's bottom dollar

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo be very confident; to be sure.

Similar
bet one's bottom dollar
Also see
bet one's bottom dollarmake a book

Origin

The sense of be confident is semantically related to that of gamble, insofar as a sure bet denotes a situation in which one can be nearly certain of the outcome.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

make book. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20book

MLA

“make book.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20book. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “make book,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20book.

Source: make book on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.