swindle

[ swin-dl ]
/ ˈswɪn dl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR swindle ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), swin·dled, swin·dling.

to cheat (a person, business, etc.) out of money or other assets.
to obtain by fraud or deceit.

verb (used without object), swin·dled, swin·dling.

to put forward plausible schemes or use unscrupulous trickery to defraud others; cheat.

noun

an act of swindling or a fraudulent transaction or scheme.
anything deceptive; a fraud: This advertisement is a real swindle.

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Origin of swindle

1775–85; back formation from swindler < German Schwindler irresponsible person, promoter of wildcat schemes, cheat, derivative of schwindeln to be dizzy (hence dizzy-minded, irresponsible), defraud, equivalent to schwind- (akin to Old English swindan to languish) + -(e)l- -le + -er -er1

OTHER WORDS FROM swindle

swin·dle·a·ble, adjectiveswin·dler, nounswin·dling·ly, adverbout·swin·dle, verb (used with object), out·swin·dled, out·swin·dling.

Words nearby swindle

swimming pool granuloma, swimmingly, swimsuit, swimwear, swinburne, swindle, swindle sheet, swindled, swindon, swine, swine erysipelas
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to swindler

forger, rascal, thief, crook, cheater, counterfeiter, charlatan, clip, cheat, operator, sharp, grifter, sharper, chiseler, mountebank, scoundrel, rook, absconder, fraud, trickster

Example sentences from the Web for swindler

British Dictionary definitions for swindler

swindle
/ (ˈswɪndəl) /

verb

to cheat (someone) of money, etc; defraud
(tr) to obtain (money, etc) by fraud

noun

a fraudulent scheme or transaction

Derived forms of swindle

swindler, noun

Word Origin for swindle

C18: back formation from German Schwindler, from schwindeln, from Old High German swintilōn, frequentative of swintan to disappear
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