bilk

[ bilk ]

See synonyms for: bilk bilked bilker on Thesaurus.com

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

Other words for bilk

1	swindle, trick, dupe, fleece, rook

See synonyms for bilk on Thesaurus.com

Other words from bilk

bilker, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bilk in a sentence

The Texas Republican practically bilked his donors by running the most unserious campaign in recent American history.
Good Riddance to Steve Stockman, the Grifter Congressman Who Ran for Senate | Ben Jacobs | March 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The California governor candidate hit back hard against charges she bilked a Hispanic housekeeper.
Meg Whitman's Latino Trouble | Shushannah Walshe | September 30, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
Recording companies bilked the artists who created the music.
The New Good Guys | Douglas Rushkoff | November 23, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
He said he thought he had been bilked, and that the money would never be turned over.
Satan's Invisible World Displayed or, Despairing Democracy | W. T. Stead
She threw the paint-stained duster into the studio stove, stuck out her tongue at the sleeper, and whispered, 'Bilked!'
The Light That Failed | Rudyard Kipling

Were the owners and occupiers of the blocks of offices paid for them, or were they bilked like the hotel proprietors?
Experiences of a Dug-out, 1914-1918 | Sir Stanley Maude
Don't tell me you bilked 'em all so 'andily on settin' that 'ouse afire.
The Incendiary | W. A. (William Augustine) Leahy
But she is almost twenty; she is amazingly swift behind the bar, and no man has yet bilked her of a penny.
An Ocean Tramp | William McFee

British Dictionary definitions 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

Origin of bilk

C17: perhaps variant of balk

Derived forms of bilk

bilker, noun

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

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