rake-off
[reyk-awf, -of]
- 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. 2018
rake-off
- a share of profits, esp one that is illegal or given as a bribe
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- (tr, adverb) to take or receive (such a share of profits)
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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
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]
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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.