spiv

American

[spiv] / spɪv /

noun

British Informal.

a petty criminal, especially a black marketeer, racetrack tout, or petty thief.

spiv British

/ spɪv /

noun

slang a person who makes a living by underhand dealings or swindling; black marketeer

"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

Other Word Forms

spivvy adjective

Etymology

Origin of spiv

1885–90; back formation from dial. spiving smart; perhaps akin to spiffy

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.

Often cast as cockney spivs at the start of his career, he moved on to authority figures like the doctor who treats Connery's James Bond in 1983's Never Say Never Again.

From BBC

She sounds like she’s auditioning for a cartoon about wartime spivs.

From The Guardian

Why is this country ready to go back to an abusive relationship with these private school spivs?

From The Guardian

He conforms to the stereotype of every person who sees it as a spivs’ marketplace.

From The Guardian

It would also be a green light for fraudsters, smugglers and spivs.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023