embezzle
verb (used with object)
to appropriate fraudulently to one's own use, as money or property entrusted to one's care.
embezzled
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past participleof embezzle.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof embezzle.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
embezzleverb (used with object)to appropriate fraudulently to one's own use, as money or property entrusted to one's care.
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.
Prosecutors allege Wallace embezzled about $390,000 from the church’s coffers between April 2019 and September 2025, spending some of the funds on rent and travel expenses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
The two fugitives at the Dubai event had been both indicted in federal court in Illinois in 2024 on charges that they embezzled $15 million from a Chicago hospital where Ahmed was CFO.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
The party has said it will seek to "recover from the guilty party the full amount embezzled" at a proceeds of crime hearing, which is due to take place next month.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Murrell embezzled £400,000 from the SNP over a 12-year period, using the money to buy more than 1,000 items including jewellery, cosmetics and two cars.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
But there was a man who’d embezzled money from Grandpa Vaughan’s estate after he died and whom Rosa then sued in civil court.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
