bilk
[bilk]
- 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.
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- a cheat; swindler.
- a trick; fraud; deceit.
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Origin of bilk
First recorded in 1625–35; of obscure origin
Synonyms
See more synonyms for bilk on Thesaurus.com1. swindle, trick, dupe, fleece, rook.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for bilk
Contemporary Examples
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
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
- 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
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- a swindle or cheat
- a person who swindles or cheats
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Word Origin
C17: perhaps variant of balk
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for bilk
v.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper