embezzlement
CulturalExplanation
If you are glee club treasurer, and you pocket twenty glee dollars saying you used it to buy lozenges, you are committing embezzlement, the theft of money or property that you officially manage. In order for stealing to be embezzlement, you need to both be in charge of the funds or property you are stealing, and you need to conceal your theft. Because of this, it is classified as a type of fraud. People who commit embezzlement often create fake paper trails — receipts, canceled checks, false signatures — to hide their crime.
Vocabulary lists containing embezzlement
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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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.
The accountant’s preliminary review cited evidence of misappropriation and potential embezzlement.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
Michael Boaz, former town manager of Pilot Mountain, N.C., was indicted on a felony embezzlement charge on May 11 for allegedly misusing taxpayer money.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
"I am not guilty of that embezzlement so nothing that belongs to me should be part of that. Rightly it should not be part of that."
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
Sturgeon's solicitor Aamer Anwar said the answer was standard legal advice and rejected claims it hindered the investigation which this week resulted in the conviction of her estranged husband Peter Murrell for embezzlement.
From BBC • May 27, 2026
Years later he was extradited to Serbia and put into Belgrade Central Prison to face charges of embezzlement.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
