Pari-mutuel Definition

noun

A system of betting on races whereby the winners divide the total amount bet, after deducting management expenses, in proportion to the sums they have wagered individually.

American Heritage

A machine that records such bets and computes the payoffs.

American Heritage

Other Word Forms of Pari-mutuel

Noun

Singular:

pari-mutuel

Plural:

pari-mutuels

Origin of Pari-mutuel

French pari wager (from parier to wager) (from Latin pariāre to settle a debt) (from pār par- equal perə-² in Indo-European roots) mutuel mutual (from Old French mutual)

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From French pari mutuel (“mutual bet").

From Wiktionary