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scam

[skam]
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noun
  1. a confidence game or other fraudulent scheme, especially for making a quick profit; swindle.
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verb (used with object), scammed, scam·ming.
  1. to cheat or defraud with a scam.
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Origin of scam

1960–65; orig. carnival argot; of obscure origin
Related formsscam·mer, noun
Can be confusedscam scan
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for scamming

scam

noun
  1. a stratagem for gain; a swindle
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verb scams, scamming or scammed
  1. (tr) to swindle (someone) by means of a trick
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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

Word Origin and History for scamming

scam

1963, noun and verb, U.S. slang, a carnival term, of unknown origin. Perhaps related to 19c. British slang scamp "cheater, swindler" (see scamp (n.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper