Ponzi scheme
Britishnoun
Etymology
Origin of Ponzi scheme
After Charles Ponzi , who famously perpetrated such a scheme in the United States of America in the early 20th century
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.
Some have even argued that this makes the program a Ponzi scheme — although, by that definition, pretty much everything is a Ponzi scheme.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
Cloth is also accused of engaging in a Ponzi scheme by using the acquired investor funds to repay prior investors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
In the 1990s, John Bennett and his New Era Philanthropy, a Ponzi scheme, bilked an ex-U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
To build confidence, it isn’t just about going after a Ponzi scheme, which we all agree we have to go after.
From Barron's ● Apr. 18, 2026
They had the essential feature of a Ponzi scheme: To maintain the fiction that they were profitable enterprises, they needed more and more capital to create more and more subprime loans.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
