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shill

[ shil ]
/ ʃɪl /
Slang.
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See synonyms for: shill / shilled / shilling on Thesaurus.com

noun
a person who poses as a customer in order to decoy others into participating, as at a gambling house, auction, confidence game, etc.
a person who publicizes or praises something or someone for reasons of self-interest, personal profit, or friendship or loyalty.
verb (used without object)
to work as a shill: He shills for a large casino.
verb (used with object)
to advertise or promote (a product) as or in the manner of a huckster; hustle: He was hired to shill a new TV show.
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Origin of shill

First recorded in 1920–25; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use shill in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shill

shill
/ (ʃɪl) /

noun
slang a confidence trickster's assistant, esp a person who poses as an ordinary customer, gambler, etc, in order to entice others to participate

Word Origin for shill

C20: perhaps shortened from shillaber a circus barker, of unknown origin
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
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