bilk
[bilk]
verb (used with object)
to defraud; cheat: He bilked the government of almost a million dollars.
to evade payment of (a debt).
to frustrate: a career bilked by poor health.
to escape from; elude: to bilk one's pursuers.
noun
a cheat; swindler.
a trick; fraud; deceit.
Origin of bilk
First recorded in 1625–35; of obscure origin
Synonyms for bilk
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for bilk
fleece, con, deceive, defraud, swindle, overreach, do, rook, thwart, beat, ruin, snow, frustrate, trick, foil, gyp, disappoint, circumvent, bamboozle, flimflamExamples from the Web for bilk
Contemporary Examples of bilk
The lawsuit alleged that Danone used these claims to bilk consumers out of more than $100 million.
"He told me Andrew had tried to bilk $50 million out of Mrs. Mellon," said Toben.
Con artists routinely hack into accounts to impersonate people and bilk money from strangers.
Historical Examples of bilk
The whole meeting, in fact, was what is vulgarly called a bilk.
Merry-Garden and Other StoriesSir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
He's expecting a cablegram—this duffer, this scrub, this bilk!
The American ClaimantMark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
We observe that a new planet has been discovered at Bilk, in Germany.
"I shan't, sir; you only wants to bilk master, and bolt," replied the waiter.
Mornings at Bow StreetJohn Wight
This gaffer contrived to 'bilk' all the turnpikes in the kingdom.
The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and VictimsAndrew Steinmetz
bilk
verb (tr)
noun
Word Origin for bilk
C17: perhaps variant of balk
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper