cheat

[ cheet ]

verb (used with object)

1. to defraud; swindle:

   He cheated her out of her inheritance.

   Synonyms: fool, hoax, con, gull, delude, dupe, mislead

2. to deceive; influence by fraud:

   He cheated us into believing him a hero.

3. to elude; deprive of something expected:

   He cheated the law by suicide.

verb (used without object)

1. to practice fraud or deceit:

   She cheats without regrets.

2. to violate rules or regulations:

   He cheats at cards.

3. to take an examination or test in a dishonest way, as by improper access to answers.
4. Informal. to be sexually unfaithful (often followed by on ):

   Her husband knew she had been cheating all along. He cheated on his wife.

noun

1. a person who acts dishonestly, deceives, or defrauds:

   He is a cheat and a liar.

   Synonyms: swindler, mountebank, phony, fake, fraud, charlatan, dodger, sharper, trickster

2. a fraud; swindle; deception:

   The game was a cheat.

   Synonyms: hoax, trick, artifice, imposture

3. Law. the fraudulent obtaining of another's property by a pretense or trick.
4. an impostor:

   The man who passed as an earl was a cheat.

cheat

/ tʃiːt /

verb

1. to deceive or practise deceit, esp for one's own gain; trick or swindle (someone)
2. intr to obtain unfair advantage by trickery, as in a game of cards
3. tr to escape or avoid (something unpleasant) by luck or cunning

   to cheat death

4. informal.
   whenintr, usually foll by on to be sexually unfaithful to (one's wife, husband, or lover)

noun

1. a person who cheats
2. a deliberately dishonest transaction, esp for gain; fraud
3. informal.
   sham
4. law the obtaining of another's property by fraudulent means
5. See rye-brome
   the usual US name for rye-brome

Derived Forms

• ˈcheatable, adjective
• ˈcheatingly, adverb
• ˈcheater, noun

Other Words From

• cheata·ble adjective
• cheating·ly adverb
• outcheat verb (used with object)
• un·cheated adjective
• un·cheating adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cheat¹

1325–75; Middle English chet (noun) (aphetic for achet, variant of eschet escheat ); cheten to escheat, derivative of chet (noun)

Word History and Origins

Origin of cheat¹

C14: short for escheat

Synonym Study

Cheat, deceive, trick, victimize refer to the use of fraud or artifice deliberately to hoodwink or obtain an unfair advantage over someone. Cheat implies conducting matters fraudulently, especially for profit to oneself: to cheat at cards. Deceive suggests deliberately misleading or deluding, to produce misunderstanding or to prevent someone from knowing the truth: to deceive one's parents. To trick is to deceive by a stratagem, often of a petty, crafty, or dishonorable kind: to trick someone into signing a note. To victimize is to make a victim of; the emotional connotation makes the cheating, deception, or trickery seem particularly dastardly: to victimize a blind man.

Example Sentences

This comes in part from the fact that the Cullinan has a cheat sheet.

From Popular-Science

They were salt-packed and full of “preservatives” and that ghastly enemy, MSG, but more than anything, they were the tools of cheats.

From Eater

“There should be a cheat sheet out there for what test to use when,” Wells said.

From Fortune

For example, when you’re gearing up for a big promotional launch, create a cheat sheet of pre-written social copy and send over several variations that fit different channels.

From Search Engine Watch

Using that formula, which is a bit of a cheat, e-commerce is now closer to 21%.

From Search Engine Land

Cheat, in other words—on God, on our fellow man, ultimately, on ourselves.

From The Daily Beast

If a Queen did cheat, her crimes fade into insignificance compared to the extensive philandering engaged in by medieval monarchs.

From The Daily Beast

Clients who are wary of online transactions are liable to see escorts with print ads as less likely to cheat or scam  them.

From The Daily Beast

Vennare adds that cheat days can occasionally do more harm than good.

From The Daily Beast

And if so, is it possible to “cheat” without feeling the effects or seeing them on the scale?

From The Daily Beast

He turned to Miller, and said haughtily in his imperfect English, “Did you see the cheat, you?”

From Project Gutenberg

And thirdly he knew that his adversary would cheat if he could and that his adversary suspected him of fraudulent designs.

From Project Gutenberg

She had submitted to giving up the salmon, but the devil himself should not cheat her out of her dessert.

From Project Gutenberg

I soon find out when they are trying to cheat me; then they come smirking and smiling with 'Guten Abis.'

From Project Gutenberg

The tongue can't cheat the brain, and right now reading is out of the question.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bilk
• con
• deceive
• defraud
• delude
• dupe
• fleece
• hoodwink
• mislead
• swindle
• trick
• victimize