Phrase guide

policy shop

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A gambling place where punters could bet on the numbers which would be drawn in lotteries.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, historical, obsolete

Examples

  • 1856, New York (State) Legislature: Senate, Documents of the Senate of the State of New York, Volume 2, page 212, In lottery and policy shops do they not generally stick up an exchange sign, and hold out “stationery sold here,” so that persons who did not understand it would suppose they sold stationery?
  • 1901, New York (State) Legislature: Assembly, Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York, Volume 28, page 2031, Policy is open, but policy, of course — it is harder to get into policy shops than it is into any other sort of gambling, [...] .

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From policy (“illegal lottery”) + shop.