embezzle

American  

[em-bez-uhl] / ɛmˈbɛz əl /

verb (used with object)

embezzled, embezzling

1. to appropriate fraudulently to one's own use, as money or property entrusted to one's care.

   Synonyms:

   misappropriate

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embezzle British  

/ ɪmˈbɛzəl /

verb

1. to convert (money or property entrusted to one) fraudulently to one's own use

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Other Word Forms

• embezzlement
  noun
• embezzler
  noun
• nonembezzlement
  noun
• unembezzled
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of embezzle

1375–1425; late Middle English embesilen < Anglo-French embeseiller to destroy, make away with, equivalent to em- em- ¹ + beseiller, Old French beseiller to destroy < ?

Explanation

When a person embezzles, it usually means that he is stealing money from his employer. If he is caught embezzling, it probably also means that he will soon be unemployed. The word embezzle implies more than simply "to steal." When a person embezzles, he or she takes advantage of an employer's trust for personal gain. Embezzling is a so-called "white-collar crime" which often involves some sort of cover-up, like falsifying financial records or stealing small amounts of money over a long period of time. The word embezzle comes from an Old French word meaning "maltreat or ravage," besillier, and an embezzler can be said to ravage someone else's money.

Example Sentences

Embezzle, em-bez′l, v.t. to appropriate fraudulently what has been entrusted.—ns.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

The same Penalty will be inflicted upon every person who is found to Embezzle, Trade, or Offer to Trade with any of the Ship's Stores of what Nature so ever.

From Captain Cook's Journal During the First Voyage Round the World by Cook, James

Related Words

• appropriate
• filch
• loot
• misappropriate
• misuse
• pilfer
• purloin
• skim