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 bilked
fleece, con, deceive, defraud, swindle, overreach, do, rook, thwart, beat, ruin, snow, frustrate, trick, foil, gyp, disappoint, circumvent, bamboozle, flimflamExamples from the Web for bilked
Contemporary Examples of bilked
The California governor candidate hit back hard against charges she bilked a Hispanic housekeeper.
Historical Examples of bilked
Don't tell me you bilked 'em all so 'andily on settin' that 'ouse afire.
The IncendiaryW. A. (William Augustine) Leahy
He said he thought he had been bilked, and that the money would never be turned over.
She threw the paint-stained duster into the studio stove, stuck out her tongue at the sleeper, and whispered, "Bilked!"
The Works of Rudyard Kipling: One Volume EditionRudyard Kipling
To have a female confidence game played on a man would leave less of a sting than to be bilked by a male.
Peck's SunshineGeorge W. Peck
But she is almost twenty; she is amazingly swift behind the bar, and no man has yet bilked her of a penny.
An Ocean TrampWilliam McFee
bilk
verb (tr)
noun
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
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper