bet

Etymology 1

From 16th-century criminal slang, likely from abet or Old English bætan (“to make better”); or from Old French abeter (“to entice”), from a- (“to”) + beter (“hound on, urge, to bait”); but in either case ultimately from Proto-Germanic. More at abet.

noun

1. A wager, an agreement between two parties that a stake (usually money) will be paid by the loser to the winner (the winner being the one who correctly forecast the outcome of an event).
   Dylan owes Fletcher $30 from an unsuccessful bet.
2. (Philippines, figurative, informal, by extension) A candidate (for elections and pageants).
3. A degree of certainty.
   It’s a safe bet that it will rain tomorrow.
   There's a decent bet that we'll be able to reach the top of that hill in an hour.
   It’s an even bet that Jim will come top of the maths test tomorrow.
   There's a good bet that Sally will arrive later.

verb

1. To stake or pledge upon the outcome of an event; to wager.
   I'll bet you two to one I'll make him do it. 1858, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., The Deacon's Masterpiece or The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay
2. To be sure of something; to be able to count on something.
   Fancy going for a drink after work? You bet I do!
3. (poker) To place money into the pot in order to require others do the same, usually only used for the first person to place money in the pot on each round.

intj

1. Expression of general agreement or acceptance.
   He asked if KRS could come by and meet up with a few of us there on Monday night, as he wanted to show him the church and have me build with him. Aight, bet. Nov 5, 2008, S.O.U.LMag, number 13, page 66
   Then I rocked the Kansas show and after Jay said, ‘Look, if you want, you can go on tour with us and open and close the shows, but we can’t pay you, but we’ll make sure you get the exposure.’ So I said bet, Sep 16, 2013, Insight News, volume 40, number 38, published Sep 12, 2013, page 6
   She texted Jimenez and told him it was a nice time, but she wasn’t feeling him and apologized. “Bet,” Jimenez replied, because she kind of pissed him off with that comment. Nov 6, 2017, The DePaulia, volume 102, number 8, DePaul University, published Nov 4, 2017, page 20
2. Exclamation indicating acceptance of a challenge or an absurd proposal.
   What you may not have stopped to consider is that Big Clit Energy (here referred to as B.C.E.) has been around since... BCE! Eve? She looked sin in the eye and said, “Bet.” Sep 4, 2018, The Rice Thresher, volume 103, number 3, Rice University, page 9
   “(Drummer Brenden Accettura) texted me that and was like, ‘Should we name our band The Hot Mess Express?’ and I said, ‘Bet.’ So now that’s our name,” Abbie said, getting words out between laughs. Apr 30, 2019, Key Magazine, Bowling Green State University: BG Falcon Media, page 26
3. Exclamation of joy at good fortune.
   I started making jokes about him feeling like tough sh*t after that presentation haha. Everyone at school geeked his head up [inflated his ego]. He probably got two fruit cups from the lunch lady that day and said, “Bet! I’m gonna keep doing this!” May 31, 2019, CopyWrite Magazine, number 14, page 43

Etymology 2

From Hebrew בית (bēt).

noun

1. Alternative form of beth

Etymology 3

Abbreviation.

prep

1. (knitting) between
   insert right-hand needle bet 2 sts just knitted 1998, Kristin Nicholas, Knitting the New Classics, page 63