swindle

[ swin-dl ]
See synonyms for swindle on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),swin·dled, swin·dling.
  1. to cheat (a person, business, etc.) out of money or other assets.

  2. to obtain by fraud or deceit.

verb (used without object),swin·dled, swin·dling.
  1. to put forward plausible schemes or use unscrupulous trickery to defraud others; cheat.

noun
  1. an act of swindling or a fraudulent transaction or scheme.

  2. anything deceptive; a fraud: This advertisement is a real swindle.

Origin of swindle

1
First recorded in 1775–85; back formation from swindler

Other words for swindle

Other words from swindle

  • swin·dle·a·ble, adjective
  • swin·dler, noun
  • swin·dling·ly, adverb
  • out·swin·dle, verb (used with object), out·swin·dled, out·swin·dling.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use swindle in a sentence

  • It deserves to rank among the most extraordinary literary swindles of the present, perhaps of any, century.

    Devil-Worship in France | Arthur Edward Waite
  • Within six months, if you're not sandbagged or jailed on fake libel suits, you'll have a unique bibliography of swindles.

    Average Jones | Samuel Hopkins Adams
  • They could not believe in frauds and swindles at the hands of such men as they who enticed them to irreparable financial ruin.

  • He then narrated at length the various thefts, swindles and forgeries charged against Lupin.

  • Had he been allowed to complete his intention, the future career of Gleeson would not have been connected with mining swindles.

    Colonial Born | G. Firth Scott

British Dictionary definitions for swindle

swindle

/ (ˈswɪndəl) /


verb
  1. to cheat (someone) of money, etc; defraud

  2. (tr) to obtain (money, etc) by fraud

noun
  1. a fraudulent scheme or transaction

Origin of swindle

1
C18: back formation from German Schwindler, from schwindeln, from Old High German swintilōn, frequentative of swintan to disappear

Derived forms of swindle

  • swindler, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012