bingo

Etymology 1

Alternate form of bing, suggesting a ringing sound. Attested since 1925.

noun

  1. (uncountable) A game of chance for two or more players, who mark off numbers on a grid as they are announced by the caller; the game is won by the first person to call out "bingo!" or "house!" after crossing off all numbers on the grid or in one line of the grid.
  2. (uncountable) A similar game or amusement in which participants tick off themed words, phrases or pictures as these are called out, or as they are mentioned, for example during a speech or performance:
    animal bingo (animal pictures), ABBA bingo (titles or lyrics of ABBA songs), buzzword bingo
  3. (countable) A win in such a game.
    There were two bingos in the last game, so the players split the prize money.
  4. (countable, Scrabble, US) A play where all seven of a player's letter tiles are played, awarding a score bonus.

intj

  1. Used by players of bingo to claim a win.
  2. (informal) Used when finding what one has been looking for or trying to recall, or on successful completion of a task.
    ‘Some big, hard-boiled egg meets up with a pretty face, and bingo! He cracks up and melts.’ 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 31
    Just have to pick the bfast, lunch and dinner I feel most like eating today and – bingo! February 28, 2009, Megan Ogilvie, “Flex your plan for healthier eating”, in Toronto Star
  3. (informal) Used to declare "You've just made my point!" or "My point exactly!"

adj

  1. (US, aviation slang, chiefly military, primarily of fuel) Just sufficient to return to base (or, alternatively, to divert to an alternative airfield). (also written Bingo or BINGO)
    Well, the old pucker factor went up about 75 notches at that point cause that length of time would put my wingman below Bingo fuel, plus the thought of sitting in an orbit several miles West of the Yen Bai […] 1993, Red River Valley Fighter Pilots, page 40
    The first pilot to get down to this bingo fuel state would call, “Banjo 4, bingo fuel,” or whatever. 2012, Larry R Gibson, Recollections of a Marine Attack Pilot, page 54

verb

  1. (intransitive) To play the game of bingo.
  2. (intransitive) To give the winning cry of "bingo!" in a game.
  3. (intransitive) To play all of one's seven tiles in one move in the game of Scrabble, earning a score bonus.
    With IN on the board, he bingoed with OPERATING for 74 points, while Ann added the CO in front of it for 30 points. 2009, Joe Edley, John Williams, Everything Scrabble: Third Edition, page 333
  4. (intransitive, US, aviation slang, chiefly military) To return to base.

Etymology 2

Perhaps related to stingo.

noun

  1. (slang, obsolete) Brandy.

Attribution / Disclaimer All definitions come directly from Wiktionary using the Wiktextract library. We do not edit or curate the definitions for any words, if you feel the definition listed is incorrect or offensive please suggest modifications directly to the source (wiktionary/bingo), any changes made to the source will update on this page periodically.