scam
Americannoun
-
scams
plural
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of scam
1960–65; originally carnival argot; of obscure origin
Explanation
A scam is a sneaky or dishonest plan that's meant to con someone. A diet scam, for example, falsely claims that people will lose weight if they buy special pills or drinks. A scam is basically a hoax dressed up to look like a real business plan, worthwhile invention, or investment idea. Scams are almost always designed to make money for their creators. You can also use the word as a verb: "His evil plan was to scam people into buying fake tickets to the baseball game." Word experts know that scam came from US carnival slang, but beyond that its origins are a mystery.
Vocabulary lists containing scam
Smoke and Mirrors: The Lingo of Illusion and Deception
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"Imperfect Me"
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Simply Scandalous!
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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.
See Examples For:
“This very same scam nearly got me last year. They had me on the phone for nearly 30 minutes when I googled ‘jury duty scam’ and immediately stuff popped up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Sources familiar with the investigation said victims have been reluctant to come forward given the nature of the alleged scam.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
He says he was "not surprised" to hear about the reports of scam centres in his complex.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Plus, the ‘Jury Duty’ scam costing Americans thousands, and why so many celebrities are finding themselves a private-equity boyfriend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Who is this guy and how did he get my number and is this a scam and should I call the police?
From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Your morning catch up: Big Sur’s big summer, what to know about World Cup-related scams and more big stories.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Kevin says it's long been an "open secret" that scams are happening here, and that "the only shocking thing is that the police were effective".
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Law enforcement estimates that Americans are losing tens of billions annually to such scams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
At the core of her allegations is a distinction that banks make between frauds and scams, which dictates how customer claims are handled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Once in a while I’d leak stuff about phishing scams.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
A WSJ investigation uncovers how North Koreans have scammed their way into remote jobs at U.S. companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Later, Bernie Madoff scammed billions from many of Wall Street’s leading institutions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Kirsty Guest, a florist from North Yorkshire, was scammed out of £80,000 after meeting a man on a dating app, who called himself Patrick.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
Tatiana Maslany and Jake Johnson spoke about their new dark comedy thriller series on Apple TV and what they would do in a scenario where they are being scammed.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
We hadn’t scammed Robbie, but we’d worked him in a way that felt downright sleazy, and I’d ended up in a tight spot.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
Here’s the common sense: This isn’t a problem of scamming students or lazy teachers, though of course both exist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
But then you also see headlines about everyone’s scamming.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
Jetton warned that even low-skilled criminals can purchase ready-made hacking and scamming tools on the dark web -- and anyone with a smartphone can be a target.
From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026
Begging, scamming and threatening: they’re all tools of the writer’s trade in Pamela Hansford Johnson’s dark comedy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
“They were scamming you. Girls scam guys all the time with that. Kerri was listening in on the extension.”
From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
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.
