rou·lette / roōˈlet/ • n. 1. a gambling game in which a ball is dropped onto a revolving wheel (roulette wheel) with numbered compartments, the players betting on the number at which the ball will come to rest.2. a tool or machine with a revolving toothed wheel, used in engraving or for making slit-shaped perforations between postage stamps.• v. [tr.] make slit-shaped perforations in (paper, esp. sheets of postage stamps): the pages are rouletted next to the binding.ORIGIN: mid 18th cent.: from French, diminutive of rouelle ‘wheel,’ from late Latin rotella, diminutive of Latin rota ‘wheel.’

roulette Game of chance in which people gamble on which of 37 numbered slots (38 in the USA) in a spinning wheel a small white ball will end up in when the wheel stops. Gamblers place their bets on a table marked out with the numbers. The bank wins all stakes if the ball stops on 0 (and 00 in the USA).

roulette XVIII. — F., f. rouelle, dim. of roue wheel:- L. rota; see -ETTE.