one-armed bandit

== English == === Alternative forms === one-arm bandit === Etymology === From one-armed (“having only one arm”) +‎ bandit (“one who robs others in a lawless area, especially as part of a group; one who cheats others”), referring to the fact that the machine is operated by a single handle, and “steals” money from losing players. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌwʌnɑːmd ˈbændɪt/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˌwʌnɑɹmd ˈbændɪt/ Hyphenation: one-armed ban‧dit === Noun === one-armed bandit (plural one-armed bandits) (originally US, gambling) A gaming machine having a long arm-like handle at one side that a player pulls down to make reels spin; the player wins money or tokens when certain combinations of symbols line up on these reels. Synonym of penny-in-the-slot machine. ==== Hypernyms ==== fruit machine poker machine, pokie, pokie machine slot machine ==== Related terms ==== multi-armed bandit ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === slot machine on Wikipedia.Wikipedia “one-armed bandit, n.” under “one-armed, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2019. “one-armed bandit, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.