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
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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.
He formally charged Gomez with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds, the ruling added.
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
Amy Knox, the former chief operating officer of Harm Reduction-SD, was charged with three felony counts of misappropriating public money and three felony counts of embezzlement.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026
Even he didn’t know the extent of her embezzlement.
From "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar
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.
