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

Related formsbilk·er, noun

Synonyms for bilk

1. swindle, trick, dupe, fleece, rook.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for bilking

fleece, con, deceive, defraud, swindle, overreach, do, rook, thwart, beat, ruin, snow, frustrate, trick, foil, gyp, disappoint, circumvent, bamboozle, flimflam

Examples from the Web for bilking

Contemporary Examples of bilking

The Welfare Queen Josh Levin, Slate In the 1970s, Ronald Reagan villainized a Chicago woman for bilking the government.
The Week’s Best Longreads for December 21, 2013
David Sessions
December 21, 2013
If convicted of manipulating and bilking Bettencourt, he could face up to three years in prison.
Fight for the L'Oreal Billions
Eric Pape
September 5, 2009

British Dictionary definitions for bilking

bilk

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

Derived Formsbilker, 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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bilking

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.