孤注一掷

孤注一擲

gūzhùyīzhì

idiom #16,043

Meanings

1 to stake everything on one throw; to put all one's eggs in one basket
2 to make a desperate gamble

Characters

alone; solitary

stake; bet; to pour

to throw; to toss

Examples

他决定孤注一掷，把全部积蓄投入这个项目。

Tā juédìng gūzhùyīzhì, bǎ quánbù jīxù tóurù zhège xiàngmù.

He decided to stake everything on this project, investing all his savings.

在最后一局，他孤注一掷赢了比赛。

Zài zuìhòu yī jú, tā gūzhùyīzhì yíng le bǐsài.

In the final round, he made a desperate gamble and won the match.

Tips

history

Literally 'a lone bet, one throw' — from gambling. 注 means a stake/bet, 掷 means to throw (dice). The idiom describes risking everything on a single attempt with no backup plan.

Stroke Order

孤 gū

注 zhù

一 yī

掷 zhì