swindle
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to put forward plausible schemes or use unscrupulous trickery to defraud others; cheat.
noun
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an act of swindling or a fraudulent transaction or scheme.
-
anything deceptive; a fraud.
This advertisement is a real swindle.
verb
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to cheat (someone) of money, etc; defraud
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(tr) to obtain (money, etc) by fraud
noun
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a fraudulent scheme or transaction
Other Word Forms
- outswindle verb (used with object)
- swindleable adjective
- swindler noun
- swindlingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of swindle
First recorded in 1775–85; back formation from swindler ( def. )
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.
And while they concede that seniors may be more frequently targeted online than those younger, that, too, is based on a false assumption—that their age will make them easier to swindle.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
“Ah, this odious swindle, human life,” he swore, after his daughter Jean endured a major epileptic seizure.
From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2025
In 2007, a Canadian judge ruled that Felderhof had been unaware of the swindle and found him not guilty of insider trading.
From BBC • May 18, 2024
And Uber is helping investigators to try to catch whoever was behind the attempted swindle.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 19, 2024
“It’s done. Buster said it out loud, and nearly every human in the system heard him say it. ‘Mercerism is a swindle.’
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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.