cheat
Americanverb (used with object)
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cheats,
present (3rd person singular)
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cheated,
past participle, past
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cheating
present participle
verb (used without object)
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cheats,
present (3rd person singular)
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cheated,
past participle, past
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cheating
present participle
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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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cheats
plural
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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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cheaternoun
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outcheatverb (used with object)
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cheatableadjective
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uncheatedadjective
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uncheatingadjective
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cheatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cheatsimple
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cheatssimple
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have cheatedperfect
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has cheatedperfect
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am cheatingprogressive
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are cheatingprogressive
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is cheatingprogressive
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have been cheatingperfect progressive
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has been cheatingperfect progressive
Past
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cheatedsimple
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had cheatedperfect
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was cheatingprogressive
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were cheatingprogressive
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had been cheatingperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
As students turn to chatbots for schoolwork, teachers and parents also worry that teens will use the tools to cheat or avoid practicing critical thinking skills.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Weigh those cons against the things AI has reliably proven it can do – cheat on homework and write janky code – and it’s easy to understand Sanders’ urge to stand and yell “stop!”
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
They take the risk of being exposed as a cheat and they'll be punished as a cheat.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
It pointed to a recent decision by the High Court in London that largely exonerated Renault and four other carmakers from charges that the devices were designed to cheat clean air laws.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
If Mr. Stoker thinks I’m a cheat, it could ruin those 50 minutes.
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
He even cheats at golf, determined to “win” the game that most depends on personal integrity.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
Athletes, he says, need to be assured the Olympics are clean and cheats will not be tolerated.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
If tax cheats want to lose money, that’s their problem.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 18, 2026
Meanwhile Theo sees aerial action on D-Day and cheats death.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
But me, she knows that I don’t care about that guy, especially if he cheats on my cousin and is mean to her.
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
“A lot of people say, ‘Well, he’s got baggage, he cheated on his wife.’
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Using stolen identities, AI tools and U.S. accomplices, its operatives have cheated their way into remote jobs at American companies—funneling millions of dollars back to Kim Jong Un’s regime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Paralympic medallist Daphne Schrager insists she has "never cheated" after being given a two-year ban following an "unintentional" positive test for a banned substance.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Related: ‘I found out too late’: My stepmother cheated me out of $500K from my father’s estate.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
For instance, you knew that Mrs. Harkness would call the police if you stepped on her lawn, and that at Schmitt’s Variety Store you’d get cheated out of small change if you weren’t careful.
From "The Egypt Game" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Nearly all are requiring ethics courses along the way — as educators continue to grapple with cheating and with fears that heavy AI use will erode critical thinking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
That said, using a chatbot to write without disclosing its use can still be a form of cheating.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
Kenyan civil servant Geoffrey Mosiria called for the series to be banned in Kenya, arguing that it conflates polygamy with cheating, fraud and abuse.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
He counsels letter writers on how to handle a cheating brother, discuss religion with a devout friend, and avoid spiraling over the fear of being single forever.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
“When you win by cheating, it always comes back to bite you.”
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
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.
