rake-off

[ reyk-awf, -of ]
See synonyms for rake-off on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a share or amount taken or received illicitly, as in connection with a public enterprise.

  2. a share, as of profits.

  1. a discount in the price of a commodity: We got a 20 percent rake-off on the dishwasher.

Origin of rake-off

1
1885–90, Americanism; noun use of verb phrase rake off

Words Nearby rake-off

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use rake-off in a sentence

  • The Belgians place no limit upon the number of elephants one may shoot, just so they get their rake-off.

    In Africa | John T. McCutcheon
  • They have jobbed public works and pocketed a "rake-off" on all municipal supplies.

    The Old World in the New | Edward Alsworth Ross
  • And what did he mean by his observation that there was no rake-off on the wanagan?

  • So you think there ain't going to be any rake-off on the wanagan?

  • From various dealers this chauffeur obtained a rake-off on every gallon of gasoline used, and on the purchase of new tires, etc.

British Dictionary definitions for rake-off

rake-off

/ slang /


noun
  1. a share of profits, esp one that is illegal or given as a bribe

verbrake off
  1. (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.