bilk
[bilk]
- to defraud; cheat: He bilked the government of almost a million dollars.
- to evade payment of (a debt).
- to frustrate: a career bilked by poor health.
- to escape from; elude: to bilk one's pursuers.
- a cheat; swindler.
- a trick; fraud; deceit.
Origin of bilk
First recorded in 1625–35; of obscure origin
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com1. swindle, trick, dupe, fleece, rook.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for bilked
Contemporary Examples
The California governor candidate hit back hard against charges she bilked a Hispanic housekeeper.
Historical Examples
Don't tell me you bilked 'em all so 'andily on settin' that 'ouse afire.
The IncendiaryW. A. (William Augustine) Leahy
He said he thought he had been bilked, and that the money would never be turned over.
She threw the paint-stained duster into the studio stove, stuck out her tongue at the sleeper, and whispered, "Bilked!"
The Works of Rudyard Kipling: One Volume EditionRudyard Kipling
To have a female confidence game played on a man would leave less of a sting than to be bilked by a male.
Peck's SunshineGeorge W. Peck
But she is almost twenty; she is amazingly swift behind the bar, and no man has yet bilked her of a penny.
An Ocean TrampWilliam McFee
bilk
- to balk; thwart
- (often foll by of) to cheat or deceive, esp to avoid making payment to
- to escape from; elude
- cribbage to play a card that hinders (one's opponent) from scoring in his or her crib
- a swindle or cheat
- a person who swindles or cheats
Word Origin
C17: perhaps variant of balk
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for bilked
bilk
v.
1650s, from or along with the noun (1630s), first used as a cribbage term; as a verb, "to spoil (someone's) score." Origin obscure, it was believed in 17c. to be "a word signifying nothing;" perhaps it s a thinned form of balk "to hinder." Meaning "to defraud" is first recorded 1670s. Related: Bilked; bilking.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper