embezzle
[ em-bez-uhl ]
/ ɛmˈbɛz əl /
Save This Word!
verb (used with object), em·bez·zled, em·bez·zling.
to appropriate fraudulently to one's own use, as money or property entrusted to one's care.
QUIZ
TAKE JOY IN ACING THIS QUIZ ON “PRIDE” SYNONYMS
Hold your head up high as you embark on this quiz that explores some of the synonyms and meanings of “pride.”
Question 1 of 7
What does "dignity" mean?
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 < ?
OTHER WORDS FROM embezzle
em·bez·zle·ment, nounem·bez·zler, nounnon·em·bez·zle·ment, nounun·em·bez·zled, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use embezzle in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for embezzle
embezzle
/ (ɪmˈbɛzəl) /
verb
to convert (money or property entrusted to one) fraudulently to one's own use
Derived forms of embezzle
embezzlement, nounembezzler, nounWord Origin for embezzle
C15: from Anglo-French embeseiller to destroy, from Old French beseiller to make away with, of uncertain origin
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