cheat
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to practice fraud or deceit.
She cheats without regrets.
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to violate rules or regulations.
He cheats at cards.
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to take an examination or test in a dishonest way, as by improper access to answers.
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Informal. to be sexually unfaithful (often followed byon ).
Her husband knew she had been cheating all along. He cheated on his wife.
noun
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a person who acts dishonestly, deceives, or defrauds.
He is a cheat and a liar.
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a fraud; swindle; deception.
The game was a cheat.
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Law. the fraudulent obtaining of another's property by a pretense or trick.
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an impostor.
The man who passed as an earl was a cheat.
verb
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to deceive or practise deceit, esp for one's own gain; trick or swindle (someone)
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(intr) to obtain unfair advantage by trickery, as in a game of cards
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(tr) to escape or avoid (something unpleasant) by luck or cunning
to cheat death
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informal to be sexually unfaithful to (one's wife, husband, or lover)
noun
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a person who cheats
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a deliberately dishonest transaction, esp for gain; fraud
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informal sham
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law the obtaining of another's property by fraudulent means
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the usual US name for rye-brome
Synonym Usage
Cheat, deceive, trick, victimize refer to the use of fraud or artifice deliberately to hoodwink or obtain an unfair advantage over someone. Cheat implies conducting matters fraudulently, especially for profit to oneself: to cheat at cards. Deceive suggests deliberately misleading or deluding, to produce misunderstanding or to prevent someone from knowing the truth: to deceive one's parents. To trick is to deceive by a stratagem, often of a petty, crafty, or dishonorable kind: to trick someone into signing a note. To victimize is to make a victim of; the emotional connotation makes the cheating, deception, or trickery seem particularly dastardly: to victimize a blind man.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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outcheatverb (used with object)
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uncheatingadjective
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uncheatedadjective
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cheatableadjective
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cheaternoun
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cheatinglyadverb
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has cheatedperfect 3rd person singular
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have cheatedperfect
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have been cheatingperfect progressive
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am cheatingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been cheatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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cheatssingular 3rd person
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cheatingparticiple
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is cheatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are cheatingprogressive
Past
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had cheatedperfect
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were cheatingprogressive plural
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was cheatingprogressive singular
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cheatedsimple
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had been cheatingperfect progressive
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cheatedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of cheat
1325–75; Middle English chet (noun) (aphetic for achet, variant of eschet escheat ); cheten to escheat, derivative of chet (noun)
Explanation
To cheat is to use sneaky, unfair methods to get something you want. No one's going to want to play with you if you always cheat at mini golf. Some people cheat at cards, and others cheat during math tests by copying from the student beside them. In either case, they're trying to succeed using underhanded tricks. You can refer to someone who does this as a cheat as well. Cheat comes from the Old French escheat, a legal term for the state taking someone's property when he or she dies without heirs. This practice was resented, and it came to mean "confiscate unfairly."
Vocabulary lists containing cheat
Words for the World Series
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"The Three Chicarrones"
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Unit 18, Lesson 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hayakawa became a star through his headlining role in the 1915 Lasky-Famous Players film, "The Cheat."
From Salon • Apr. 2, 2022
The consequences reach beyond the county, according to Amanda Pitzer, executive director of Friends of the Cheat, an environmental nonprofit.
From New York Times • Oct. 17, 2021
Cheat Sheet reports that Jamie is now retired and seems to be focusing on the conservatorship.
From Fox News • Jun. 24, 2021
Gregory Orfalea Tarzana Cheat sheet Because the Astros show no remorse, perhaps we can remind them of their wrongful ways.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2020
There was one about the game Liar’s Dice, another about a game called Cheat, another about a video game, and the rest of the page of hits were about something called Book Scavenger.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
