: a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation
an insurance scam
scammed; scamming; scams
1
: to deceive and defraud (someone)
… the law firm had got the lucrative job of defending the corporate head of a savings and loan that had scammed another thousand or so people out of their savings …—
Joseph Wambaugh
Joseph Wambaugh2
: to obtain (something, such as money) by a scam
A Boston hedge fund manager who scammed millions of dollars from friends, family and other investors in what authorities say was a Ponzi scheme has been sent to prison for more than 14 years.—The Worcester (Massachusetts) Telegram & Gazette
The Worcester (Massachusetts) Telegram & GazetteExamples of scam in a Sentence
Noun
She was the victim of an insurance scam.
a sophisticated credit card scam
Verb
The company scammed hundreds of people out of their life savings.
I could tell they were scamming you and charging too much.
They scammed a lot of money from unwary customers.
Recent Examples on the Web
John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 2 May 2025
Things have come a long way from the simpler Nigerian Prince scams of yore.
—Jeremy H. Gottschalk, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 3 May 2025
Scammers love taking advantage of these holes by using false engagement and false credentials to scam businesses into collaborations that accomplish nothing more than flushing money down the toilet.
—Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scam
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Noun
Apparently, the Administration doesn't want anyone to be exposed to data that might challenge its narrative that climate change is a scam.
—John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 2 May 2025
Things have come a long way from the simpler Nigerian Prince scams of yore.
—Jeremy H. Gottschalk, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
Verb
Be wary of mailbox communications: Bad actors may also try to scam you through snail mail.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 3 May 2025
Scammers love taking advantage of these holes by using false engagement and false credentials to scam businesses into collaborations that accomplish nothing more than flushing money down the toilet.
—Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scam
Cite this Entry
“Scam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scam. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
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