cheater

noun

cheat·​er ˈchē-tər 

plural cheaters

1

: one who cheats: such as

a

: one who violates rules dishonestly

a cheater at cards

tax cheaters

That presumably includes pitchers who suspect they've given up home runs to players who cheat and batters who suspect they're being outhit by cheaters.

—Chris Jenkins

… if the tests use the same questions day after day for months, they are much more vulnerable to cheaters who can memorize the questions.

—Douglas Frantz

b

: one who is sexually unfaithful

Her boyfriend turned out to be a cheater and a liar.

Although Bartolomeo, 36, has written another tale of infidelity, the unfaithful here is our narrator, Diana Campanella. A woman. All the cheaters in this book are women—and none of the men are evil.

—Valerie Franke

2

cheaters plural, US slang : eyeglasses, spectacles

"Joe and I blow in there to see if there's anything for us, and there's a tall guy in tortoiseshell cheaters sitting in Ike's office."

—P. G. Wodehouse

especially, in current use : eyeglasses used for reading or close work

I needed my cheaters to read the menu.

Despite considerable research efforts into this condition [presbyopia], becoming increasingly prevalent as the population enjoys greater longevity, no simple treatment beyond bifocals or reading glasses ("cheaters") exists.

—Terrence P. O'Brien

Synonyms

• cheat
• dodger

Examples of cheater in a Sentence

gambling casinos have very elaborate means of detecting cheaters

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead of just trying to catch cheaters in the act with blood or urine tests, the biological passport program takes regular tests from athletes in order to establish their personal normal values. —Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 25 July 2025

Since returning to office in January, Trump has called the United States’ closest allies cheaters and freeloaders. —Margaret MacMillan, Foreign Affairs, 21 July 2025

For this, there’s headlines across the country calling the former NFL quarterback a cheater. —Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 15 July 2025

These cheater clears are marked by certain, publicly available data points, namely (via @aquativityy): One person carrying with a lot of kills while the rest of the team barely has any. —Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 25 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for cheater

• beater
• dieter
• eater
• heater
• liter
• litre
• meter
• metre
• neater
• praetor
• seater
• skeeter