shill
Americannoun
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a person who poses as a customer in order to decoy others into participating, as at a gambling house, auction, confidence game, etc.
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a person who publicizes or praises something or someone for reasons of self-interest, personal profit, or friendship or loyalty.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
Usage
What does shill mean? A shill is a person who praises or promotes something because they secretly have a personal stake in it.
Etymology
Origin of shill
First recorded in 1920–25; origin uncertain
Explanation
A shill is someone who pretends to be a customer, but is really an accomplice. If you post a positive review online of your best friend's terrible taxi service, you're a shill. In journalism, asking a politician extremely easy questions instead of the difficult ones they don't like answering is one way to be labeled a shill. And if you see someone win a hundred dollars from a sidewalk magician, they're almost definitely a shill, trying to entice others to gamble on the trick. This word was originally carnival huckster lingo, shortened from shillaber, of unknown origin.
Vocabulary lists containing shill
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.
“He primaried me last year, so I’m not a shill, but I see this and I see how unfair it’s been.”
From Washington Times • Jun. 9, 2023
Take the work of Klatsky, who has received industry funding but whom I wouldn’t characterize as an industry shill.
From Slate • Apr. 23, 2023
Some commentators have suggested that Ms. Paltrow is using the opportunity to shill for her company, Goop, identifying various items as from its clothing line or for sale on the site.
From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2023
The cultural import of these promotions is now so accepted that big stars who once, jealous of their reputations, would shill only overseas do not hesitate to say yes.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2023
You’re not a shill for a pack of roadagents?
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
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.
