bilk
[ bilk ]
/ bɪlk /
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.
RELATED WORDS
fleece, con, deceive, defraud, swindle, overreach, do, rook, thwart, beat, ruin, snow, frustrate, trick, foil, gyp, disappoint, circumvent, bamboozle, flimflam
Nearby words
- biliterate,
- bilith,
- bilithon,
- biliuria,
- biliverdin,
- bill,
- bill broker,
- bill of adventure,
- bill of attainder,
- bill of entry
Origin of bilk
First recorded in 1625–35; of obscure origin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for bilk
bilk
/ (bɪlk) /
verb (tr)
to balk; thwart
(often foll by of) to cheat or deceive, esp to avoid making payment to
to escape from; elude
cribbage to play a card that hinders (one's opponent) from scoring in his or her crib
noun
a swindle or cheat
a person who swindles or cheats
Word Origin for bilk
C17: perhaps variant of balk
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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bilk
1650s, from or along with the noun (1630s), first used as a cribbage term; as a verb, "to spoil (someone's) score." Origin obscure, it was believed in 17c. to be "a word signifying nothing;" perhaps it s a thinned form of balk "to hinder." Meaning "to defraud" is first recorded 1670s. Related: Bilked; bilking.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper