fraud

American  

[frawd] / frɔd /

noun

• frauds
  plural

1. deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage.

2. a particular instance of such deceit or trickery.

   mail fraud; election frauds.

3. any deception, trickery, or humbug.

   That diet book is a fraud and a waste of time.

   Synonyms:

   hoax, wile

4. a person who makes deceitful pretenses; sham; poseur.

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fraud British  

/ frɔːd /

noun

1. deliberate deception, trickery, or cheating intended to gain an advantage

2. an act or instance of such deception

3. something false or spurious

   his explanation was a fraud

4. informal a person who acts in a false or deceitful way

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Synonym Usage

See duplicity.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prefraud
  noun
• antifraud
  adjective
• fraudful
  adjective
• fraudfully
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• frauds
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of fraud

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English fraude, from Old French, from Medieval Latin fraud-, stem of fraus “deceit, injury”

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Explanation

A fraud is a something that deceives or tricks another person, usually to get their money. Frauds are dishonest. A fraud is something that sounds too good to be true — because it isn't. If you're promised millions of dollars by anyone on the Internet, that's got to be a fraud. Anyone trying to sell you a bridge is committing fraud. Identity theft is a type of fraud. Democrats and Republicans frequently accuse the other party of fraud when it comes to counting votes. You can also tell a person who is fake or an impostor is a fraud.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fraud frauds

Government Bounce Back Loans of up to £50,000 were made available to support small businesses during the pandemic, but a government report found the scheme was vulnerable to fraud and error.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

In an effort to thwart fraud, the Social Security Administration said it has fixed millions of records and is working on correcting millions more.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

He pleaded guilty to making illegal campaign donations and a loan fraud scheme in 2022.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

He died of cancer on Aug. 26, 1937, at the age of 82—four months before the ruling that would exonerate him of the fraud charges.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

I couldn’t go over there doing my fake gangster shit and have them discover I was a fraud.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

Now they crowdsource questions about when the beds will come and how they will work and argue over which medbed whistleblowers are real and which are frauds.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

Her fund, Safkhet Capital, had no hedges or long positions—just a handful of bets against companies she believed were predatory businesses or frauds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

Mr. Bryson’s pivotal summer is full of heroes, frauds, fads and marvels, but the reader is aware of what the revelers cannot yet imagine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

A congressional review in 1952 found that hundreds had been frauds.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026

The field swarmed with charming frauds and con men, such as Cagliostro and the Count of Saint-Germain, who pretended not only to transmute the elements but also to hold the secret of immortality.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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Related Words

• blackmail
• deceit
• extortion
• graft
• hoax
• misrepresentation
• scam

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