fraud
Americannoun
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deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage.
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a particular instance of such deceit or trickery.
mail fraud; election frauds.
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any deception, trickery, or humbug.
That diet book is a fraud and a waste of time.
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a person who makes deceitful pretenses; sham; poseur.
noun
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deliberate deception, trickery, or cheating intended to gain an advantage
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an act or instance of such deception
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something false or spurious
his explanation was a fraud
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informal a person who acts in a false or deceitful way
Related Words
See duplicity.
Other Word Forms
- antifraud adjective
- fraudful adjective
- fraudfully adverb
- prefraud noun
Etymology
Origin of fraud
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English fraude, from Old French, from Medieval Latin fraud-, stem of fraus “deceit, injury”
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.
So, the syndicates switched to online fraud instead, luring young workers from around the world with attractive salary offers.
From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026
But public market investments aren’t necessarily less vulnerable to market gyrations or fraud than private companies.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
Essayli is popular with high-level administration officials, and received a congratulatory post on X from Vice President JD Vance over the filing of fraud cases earlier this week.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026
It said the investigation concerns "instigation of breach of trust, computer fraud and false attestation with the intent to obtain for another an unlawful benefit."
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
He’d skipped town, they’d say, because he was a fraud, a quack whom we never should’ve trusted.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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.