cheat

¹cheat

verb \ˈchēt\

Definition of CHEAT

transitive verb

1

: to deprive of something valuable by the use of deceit or fraud

2

: to influence or lead by deceit, trick, or artifice

3

: to elude or thwart by or as if by outwitting <cheat death>

intransitive verb

1

a : to practice fraud or trickery

b : to violate rules dishonestly <cheat at cards> <cheating on a test>

2

: to be sexually unfaithful —usually used with on <was cheating on his wife>

3

: to position oneself defensively near a particular area in anticipation of a play in that area <the shortstop was cheating toward second base>

— cheat·er noun

Examples of CHEAT

1. The players were accused of cheating.
2. I had to cheat in order to solve the puzzle.
3. The store cheats its customers through false advertising.
4. They cheated him out of a fair deal.
5. a heroin addict who has cheated death many times

Origin of CHEAT

²cheat

First Known Use: 1590

Related to CHEAT

Synonyms

chicane, finagle, fudge

Antonyms

content, gratify, satisfy

Related Words

crib; color, distort, falsify, misinterpret, misrepresent, misstate, pervert, twist, warp; doctor, fake, tamper (with); elaborate, embellish, embroider, exaggerate, magnify, pad, stretch; dodge, evade, hedge

Near Antonyms

fulfill (or fulfil); gladden

Synonym Discussion of CHEAT

cheat, cozen, defraud, swindle mean to get something by dishonesty or deception. cheat suggests using trickery that escapes observation <cheated me out of a dollar>. cozen implies artful persuading or flattering to attain a thing or a purpose <always able to cozen her grandfather out of a few dollars>. defraud stresses depriving one of his or her rights and usually connotes deliberate perversion of the truth <defrauded of her inheritance by an unscrupulous lawyer>. swindle implies large-scale cheating by misrepresentation or abuse of confidence <swindled of their savings by con artists>.

Rhymes with CHEAT

beat, beet, bleat, cleat, Crete, deet, eat, feat, fleet, Geat, gleet, greet, heat, lied, meat, meet, mete, neat, peat, pleat, seat, sheet, skeet, sleet, street, suite, sweet, teat, treat, tweet, weet, wheat

²cheat

noun

Definition of CHEAT

1

: the act or an instance of fraudulently deceiving : deception, fraud

2

: one that cheats : pretender, deceiver

3

[probably from a deceptive resemblance to grain]

a : chess 1

b : cheatgrass

4

: the obtaining of property from another by an intentional active distortion of the truth

Origin of CHEAT

earlier cheat forfeited property, from Middle English chet escheat, short for eschete — more at escheat

First Known Use: 1615

Related to CHEAT

Synonyms

bilk, bilker, trickster, cheater, chiseler (or chiseller), confidence man, cozener, defrauder, dodger, fakir, finagler, fraudster [chiefly British], hoaxer, scammer, scamster, shark, sharper, sharpie (or sharpy), skinner, swindler, tricker

Related Words

double-crosser, double-dealer; bluffer, charlatan, fake, faker, humbug, impostor (or imposter), mountebank, phony (also phoney), pretender, quack, quacksalver, ringer, sham; adventurer, fox, gamesman, knave, prankster, rascal, rogue; fast-talker, slick, slicker, slickster, slyboots, smoothy (or smoothie), wheeler-dealer; plotter, schemer, sneak, sneaker; blackleg, cardsharp (or cardsharper)