scam
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
Usage
What does scam mean? A scam is a deceptive scheme or trick used to cheat someone out of something, especially money.Scam is also a verb meaning to cheat someone in such a way.Example: Banks will never call you asking for your credit card number or social security number over the phone. If someone calls and asks for information like that, it’s a scam.
Other Word Forms
- scammer noun
Etymology
Origin of scam
1960–65; originally carnival argot; of obscure origin
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.
Posted signage throughout the terminal warns everyone who lands at a New York airport about overpriced and potentially dangerous scam rides.
From Salon
A Cambodian bank founded by accused scam boss Chen Zhi, who has been indicted by the United States over a multibillion-dollar fraud and extradited to China, was ordered liquidated Thursday, Cambodia's central bank said.
From Barron's
The US charged the 37-year-old, who was born in south-east China, last October with running internet scams from Cambodia that it said had stolen billions in cryptocurrency.
From BBC
Chen Zhi, the alleged ringleader of one of Asia’s largest scam conglomerates, was arrested in Cambodia and extradited to China, the Cambodian government said Wednesday.
While not immune to misinformation and scams, LinkedIn lured people leaving X and Facebook as content moderation and fact-checking there declined.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
