Ponzi
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of Ponzi
After Charles Ponzi (died 1949), the organizer of such a scheme in the U.S., 1919–20
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.
Sadly, those who warn about stock-market manias, bubbles and Ponzi finance always look wrong until they look right.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
The Madoff scandal, in which investors lost $17.5 billion in invested principal, operated like a typical Ponzi scheme with returns to older investors paid by money from new investors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
In his final letter to investors, Robertson didn’t mince words, calling the craze “a Ponzi pyramid destined for collapse.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
They fall victim to Ponzi schemes and other scams.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
They had the essential feature of a Ponzi scheme: To maintain the fiction that they were profitable enterprises, they needed more and more capital to create more and more subprime loans.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
