cheat

verb \ ˈchēt \

Updated on: 26 Apr 2018

Definition of cheat

transitive verb

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

cheated the elderly couple out of their property

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

a young man who cheated young women into marrying him when he was already married

3 : to elude or thwart by or as if by outwitting

cheat death

intransitive verb

1 a : to practice fraud or trickery

denied the accusation that he cheated

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

—

cheater

noun

See cheat defined for English-language learners

See cheat defined for kids

Examples of cheat in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of cheat from the Web

Kevin Smith cheated death and is now ready to talk about it.

— libby hill, latimes.com, "Kevin Smith is counting his lucky stars – for his heart attack," 23 Apr. 2018
Sam Burns, who will begin play in his first Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana on Thursday with partner William McGirt, doesn't cheat his gift.

— ron higgins, NOLA.com, "Sam I Am: Former LSU golfer Sam Burns is a fast-rising star on the pro tour," 21 Apr. 2018
Those left behind snipe at each other, lie, cheat, get fall-down drunk, end relationships and muddle their way through in the messiest way possible to some promised other side.

— barbara vandenburgh, azcentral, "Grief rips through family in ‘Love After Love’ with Andie MacDowell, Chris O'Dowd," 19 Apr. 2018
Covington cheated toward Taurean Prince in the middle, who quickly passed to John Collins in the corner.

— marcus hayes, Philly.com, "Analytics-driven Sixers ride the numbers to NBA playoffs," 18 Apr. 2018
Just understand that these things are incredibly easy to make at home, and your favorite booth on the corner may be cheating a tad.

— chuck blount, San Antonio Express-News, "Smoked turkey legs a Fiesta favorite you can make at home," 16 Apr. 2018
Of course, all this news is coming off the heels of both The Daily Mail and TMZ reporting Tristan allegedly cheated on Khloé last weekend in New York City.

— christopher rosa, Glamour, "Kris Jenner Just Revealed the Meaning Behind Khloé Kardashian's Baby Name," 16 Apr. 2018
Only four minutes earlier, the diminutive Argentinian had blatantly cheated with the eyes of the world watching.

— CNN, "Where does Cristiano Ronaldo's bicycle kick rank among the greatest ever?," 4 Apr. 2018
For example, her dad cheated on her mom and married the other woman many years ago.

— carolyn hax, idahostatesman, "How to handle your sweetheart’s forgiveness issues | Idaho Statesman," 9 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cheat.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of cheat

²cheat

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1590

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

cheat Synonyms

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

cheat

noun

Definition of cheat

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

His financial activity turned out to be a great cheat.

2 or cheat code : a code (such as a button combination or password) that activates a hidden feature or capability in a computer or video game

In fact, some game levels are so tough that I had to resort to cheats to get through.
—Peter Cohen

Most people think that using a cheat code is the only way to earn a dishonest reward …
—Christopher Breen

3 : one that cheats : pretender, deceiver

is a liar and a cheat

tax cheats

[probably from a deceptive resemblance to grain]

a : chess 1

b : cheatgrass

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

See cheat defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of cheat from the Web

In recent months, the California Highway Patrol has increased enforcement, assigning dedicated strike teams working overtime shifts to catch the cheats, but the agency has been unable to abate the problem.

— michael cabanatuan, San Francisco Chronicle, "The battle to catch Bay Area carpool cheats takes on a new dimension," 2 Apr. 2018
Jake Tapper told Brooke Baldwin, 'the Patriots cheat' during her show on CNN.

— jarrett bell, USA TODAY, "NFL's new social justice campaign rings hollow without Colin Kaepernick's inclusion," 23 Jan. 2018
Those who say the Patriots cheat at every turn are likely paranoid.

— greg bishop, SI.com, "Suspicions of Bill Belichick's Patriots regime persist among opponents," 8 Sep. 2015
An admission letter there is like a cheat-code to getting into an elite college.

— daniel rapaport, SI.com, "Baseball's 'Harvard' of the West: How Three Elite High School Teammates Became Big Leaguers," 28 Feb. 2018
This includes its a successful legal campaign to force Coinbase to turn over the names of customers, and a new campaign to track down cryptocurrency cheats.

— jeff john roberts, Fortune, "Bitcoin Charity Donations Soared 10-Fold Last Year, Fidelity Says," 14 Feb. 2018
For many area Christians, Fat Tuesday is the last cheat day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Lenten season, a time of fasting and when those observing tend to give up things like sweets.

— susan selasky, Detroit Free Press, "Paczki pair up with coneys again for Fat Tuesday," 7 Feb. 2018
Then, of course, there's the incessant rhetoric of Trump and many of his allies, who demonize immigrants, participate in fearmongering over Islam and cast the rest of the world as a realm of threats and cheats.

— ishaan tharoor, Washington Post, "The bottomless vulgarity of Trump’s immigration politics," 16 Jan. 2018
The other side of the coin is that the Olympic organization actually takes doping seriously and ferrets out the cheats, and has been doing so for decades.

— mark maloney, Philly.com, "Winter Olympics 2018: If you can't find joy in the Games, something's wrong | Opinion," 8 Feb. 2018

Origin and Etymology of cheat

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1615

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

cheat Synonyms

Synonyms

bilk, bilker, cheater, chiseler (or chiseller), confidence man, cozener, defrauder, dodger, finagler, hoaxer, scammer, shark, sharper, swindler, trickster;

Related Words

double-crosser, double-dealer;

bluffer, charlatan, fake, faker, humbug, impostor (or imposter), mountebank, phony (also phoney), pretender, quack, ringer, sham;

adventurer, fox, knave, prankster, rascal, rogue;

slicker, smoothy (or smoothie), wheeler-dealer;

plotter, schemer, sneak, sneaker;

CHEAT Defined for English Language Learners

cheat

verb

Definition of cheat for English Language Learners

: to break a rule or law usually to gain an advantage at something
: to take something from (someone) by lying or breaking a rule
: to prevent (someone) from having something that he or she deserves or was expecting to get

cheat

noun

Definition of cheat for English Language Learners

: a person who cheats

CHEAT Defined for Kids

cheat

verb \ ˈchēt \

Definition of cheat for Students

cheated; cheating

1 : to use unfair or dishonest methods to gain an advantage

cheat on a test

cheat at cards

2 : to take something away from or keep from having something by dishonest tricks

“Old Mr. Peterson was cheated of his money by a dishonest agent …”
—Janet Shaw, Meet Kirsten

—

cheater

\ˈchē-tər\ noun

cheat

noun

Definition of cheat for Students

: a dishonest person

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cheat

Definition of cheat

cheater

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Origin and Etymology of cheat

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cheat

Definition of cheat

Recent Examples of cheat from the Web

Origin and Etymology of cheat

cheat Synonyms

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CHEAT Defined for English Language Learners

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cheat

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