grifter

[grif-ter]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR grifter ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Slang.

a person who operates a side show at a circus, fair, etc., especially a gambling attraction.

a swindler, dishonest gambler, or the like.

Origin of grifter

First recorded in 1910–15; grift + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for grifter

fraud, scammer

Examples from the Web for grifter

Contemporary Examples of grifter

Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) is a grifter and a wingnut, but is he possibly a felon too?
Ethics Office Sees Evidence Republican Congressman Broke the Law
Ben Jacobs
June 11, 2014
After a lifetime being raised by and working alongside his grifter father, Bob decides he wants out.
Please Don't Kill My TV Show!
Kyle Killen
September 26, 2010

Word Origin and History for grifter

"confidence trickster," 1906, carnival and circus slang, probably an alteration of grafter (see graft (n.2); also cf. grift). Gradually extended to "any non-violent criminal."