pump-and-dump

British

noun

the practice of buying shares, generating favourable publicity about them, especially on the internet, then selling them when the price accordingly rises

"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

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.

Wall Street’s stamp of legitimacy fuels suspected pump-and-dump schemes.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 30, 2026

This summer, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported External link a 300% increase in complaints about pump-and-dump frauds.

From Barron's • Dec. 12, 2025

But there is a view among some people that it’s like the slash-and-burn, pump-and-dump strategy.

From Slate • Sep. 19, 2023

Its native coin WLD has kept a steady price between $2 and $2.50 since its launch on July 24, thus far spared the "pump-and-dump" trajectory of many new crypto tokens.

From Reuters • Aug. 8, 2023

Earlier this month, the House Committee on Ethics ordered him to pay more than $15,000 for his role in promoting a meme coin, in a "pump-and-dump" cryptocurrency scheme.

From Salon • Dec. 16, 2022

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