embezzlement
CulturalExplanation
If you are glee club treasurer, and you pocket twenty glee dollars saying you used it to buy lozenges, you are committing embezzlement, the theft of money or property that you officially manage. In order for stealing to be embezzlement, you need to both be in charge of the funds or property you are stealing, and you need to conceal your theft. Because of this, it is classified as a type of fraud. People who commit embezzlement often create fake paper trails — receipts, canceled checks, false signatures — to hide their crime.
Vocabulary lists containing embezzlement
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for April 24–April 30, 2021
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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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.
Her father, former president Alberto Fujimori, died in 2024 after serving 16 years in prison for crimes against humanity, bribery and embezzlement.
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
Murrell is yet to make a plea on the embezzlement charge.
From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026
Stephan said she was alarmed by some of the discoveries the district attorney’s office made when speaking to county staff as part of its investigation into Knox’s alleged embezzlement.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026
For more than a decade, he exposed alleged corruption and embezzlement among senior Russian officials.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026
If Mom really is a not-so-good person, could she possibly be guilty of embezzlement after all?
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
