scam

1 of 2

noun

ˈskam 

: a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation

an insurance scam

scam

2 of 2

verb

scammed; scamming; scams

transitive verb

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

2

: 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

Synonyms of scam

Noun

• fraud
• swindle
• hoax
• con
• scheme

Examples 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

Noun

Consider using strong antivirus software that offers malicious website blocking, phishing protection and scam-link warnings. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026

Google has announced a fresh set of Android updates that enlist artificial intelligence to defend against human fraud, expanding AI's role in detecting and blocking scam attempts via messages and calls. — Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026

Verb

Netflix announced Wednesday that the next installment of its Untold sports documentary series will tackle the story of Daejon Love, the viral scam artist who posed as an NFL star to scam dates out of millions of dollars. — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2026

Then, through an elaborate cryptocurrency scheme, that group managed to scam even more money from Nuss. — Vicky Nguyen, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun

1958, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1963, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for scam

• am
• bam
• cham
• clam
• damme
• damn
• dram
• flam
• fram
• gram
• ham
• jam

Kids Definition

scam

noun

ˈskam

: a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation

lost $500 in a business scam

scam verb

Etymology

Noun

origin unknown