Ponzi scheme

British

/ ˈpɒnzɪ /

noun

a fraudulent investment operation that pays quick returns to initial contributors using money from subsequent contributors rather than profit

"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

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.

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Ponzi scheme

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

Philip Wu, a Chicago-based enrolled agent with the IRS who prepares taxes for clients, tells of a client who was victimized by a Ponzi scheme and lost a bundle.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 8, 2026

In February, five people in a cattle business were indicted for an alleged $220 million Ponzi scheme.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 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

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023