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bandit

[ban-dit]
noun, plural ban·dits or (Rare) ban·dit·ti [ban-dit-ee] /bænˈdɪt i/.
  1. a robber, especially a member of a gang or marauding band.
  2. an outlaw or highwayman.
  3. Informal.
    1. a person who takes unfair advantage of others, as a merchant who overcharges; swindler; cheat.
    2. a vendor, cab driver, etc., who operates a business or works without a required license or permit, and without observing the usual rules or practices.
  4. Military Informal. an enemy aircraft, especially an attacking fighter.
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Idioms
  1. make out like a bandit, Slang. to be extremely successful; profit greatly: The early investors in the company have made out like bandits.
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Origin of bandit

1585–95; earlier bandetto, plural banditti < Italian banditi outlaws, plural of bandito proscribed, past participle of bandire banish, exile, announce publicly < Gothic bandwjan to make a sign, indicate (cf. band1) with v. suffix -ire < Latin -īre

Synonyms

1, 2. brigand, desperado.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for make out like a bandit

bandit

noun plural -dits or -ditti (-ˈdɪtɪ)
  1. a robber, esp a member of an armed gang; brigand
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Derived Formsbanditry, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Italian bandito, literally: banished man, from bandire to proscribe, from bando edict, ban 1
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

Word Origin and History for make out like a bandit

bandit

n.

1590s, from Italian bandito (plural banditi) "outlaw," past participle of bandire "proscribe, banish," from Vulgar Latin *bannire "to proclaim, proscribe," from Proto-Germanic *bann (see ban (v.)). *Bannire (or its Frankish cognate *bannjan) in Old French became banir-, which, with lengthened stem, became English banish.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with make out like a bandit

make out like a bandit

Succeed extremely well, as in He invested in real estate and made out like a bandit. This expression likens other forms of success to that of a triumphant robber. It may, however, come from an intermediate source, that is, the use of bandit (or one-armed bandit) for a slot machine, which is far more profitable for the house than for gamblers. [Slang; c. 1970]

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.