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rake-off

[ reyk-awf, -of ]
/ ˈreɪkˌɔf, -ˌɒf /
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noun
a share or amount taken or received illicitly, as in connection with a public enterprise.
a share, as of profits.
a discount in the price of a commodity: We got a 20 percent rake-off on the dishwasher.
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Origin of rake-off

1885–90, Americanism; noun use of verb phrase rake off
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rake-off in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rake-off

rake-off
/ slang /

noun
a share of profits, esp one that is illegal or given as a bribe
verb rake off
(tr, adverb) to take or receive (such a share of profits)
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with rake-off

rake off

Make an unlawful profit, as in They suspected her of raking off some of the campaign contributions for her personal use. This expression alludes to the raking of chips by an attendant at a gambling table. [Late 1800s]

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