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:
The scam unravelled because one of the ringers was also a journalist.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Your relative is in the grip of a scam.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
Just as your altruism or kindness can lead you astray, so can other motivations, like greed — participating in a get-rich-quick scam that seems too good to be true.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
The company says it stops tens of millions of fake members who could scam users by posing as recruiters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Your aunt Chana lent me another two hundred dollars; I burned it all on a scam bartending school.
From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
But if you are hunting round for grants, watch out for scams pretending to be official money-off schemes.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
He says staff fear they could be targeted, or that criminals could use the data to create highly convincing phishing attempts, scams or demands for bribes.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Phase 3: Find an online or local senior group that can teach both mom and daughter how to avoid scams and protect digital assets and financial accounts.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
An out-of-work copywriter on the job hunt himself, Jones spends hours every day hunting for scams on LinkedIn and other sites.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Once in a while I’d leak stuff about phishing scams.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
Johna backed out of the chat, realizing that she’d only just escaped being scammed.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Working with such a learned person will prevent being scammed by a glitzy commercial.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
But with high-value products comes risk - and Glen has warned of Pokémon fans being scammed around the release of the anniversary range.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
That will be more powerful than any evidence you can provide that a parent is being scammed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
“And the mud. I don’t mind vacuuming for you. And, yes, I realize you just scammed me into doing your job. But isn’t it worth it to let the kid be a kid?”
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
He attended church services organized by Nigerians serving time for online scamming.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
The soaking and scamming of undergrads and grad students.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
"But at the end of the day, the art of scamming is psychological rather than technological," Gupta says.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
But then you also see headlines about everyone’s scamming.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 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.
