embezzle
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of embezzle
1375–1425; late Middle English embesilen < Anglo-French embeseiller to destroy, make away with, equivalent to em- em- 1 + beseiller, Old French beseiller to destroy < ?
Explanation
When a person embezzles, it usually means that he is stealing money from his employer. If he is caught embezzling, it probably also means that he will soon be unemployed. The word embezzle implies more than simply "to steal." When a person embezzles, he or she takes advantage of an employer's trust for personal gain. Embezzling is a so-called "white-collar crime" which often involves some sort of cover-up, like falsifying financial records or stealing small amounts of money over a long period of time. The word embezzle comes from an Old French word meaning "maltreat or ravage," besillier, and an embezzler can be said to ravage someone else's money.
Vocabulary lists containing embezzle
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The wife of Ali Bongo, whose family ruled the central African country with an iron fist for 55 years, had been accused of manipulating her husband to embezzle taxpayers' money.
From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025
César Franck and others got a kick out of Alessandro Stradella, the Baroque opera composer who attempted to embezzle the Roman Catholic Church.
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2025
She has denied wrongdoing, and party spokesman Laurent Jacobelli said "we are going to prove that there is no system to embezzle money from the EU".
From BBC • Sep. 30, 2024
Manuel Chang, the former minister, is suspected of signing off on about $2 billion worth of loans concealed from public view and partaking in a scheme to embezzle hundreds of millions of dollars.
From New York Times • Jul. 12, 2023
I don't say it was proved on the other hand that he did embezzle that sum.
From Hard Cash by Reade, Charles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
