Definition of shill
intransitive verb
1 : to act as a shill
2 : to act as a spokesperson or promoter the eminent Shakespearean producer … is now shilling for a brokerage house — Andy Rooney
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Recent Examples of shill from the Web
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After a poor showing in Kampala in last year’s elections, Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s president, has personally delivered 100m shilling ($28,000) cheques to SACCOs in the city.
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So did Stacy Lewis, the No. 3 American on the all-time money list, who didn’t seem happy to shill for Trump this week.
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And corporations shilling everything from gasoline to overalls often called on Hatch for mammoth adverts.
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Statements and video of unidentified employees who shill for you?
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shill.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Professionals licensed to shill won't necessarily knock you dead, but they may not do you any good either. They might simply be pitchmen employed to extol the wonders of legitimate products. But in the early 1900s, when the first uses of the verb shill were documented, it was more likely that anyone hired to shill you was trying to con you into parting with some cash. Practitioners were called shills (that noun also dates from the early 1900s), and they did everything from faking big wins at casinos (to promote gambling) to pretending to buy tickets (to encourage people to see certain shows). Shill is thought to be a shortened form of shillaber, but etymologists have found no definitive evidence of where that longer term originated.
Origin and Etymology of shill
2shill
shill
Definition of shill
1a : one who acts as a decoy (as for a pitchman or gambler)b : one who makes a sales pitch or serves as a promoter
2 : pitch 8a
Recent Examples of shill from the Web
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But there remains a single day each year when the staff of SUR will come together without question to party, fight, make up, and shill out Pumptinis: L.A. Pride.
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Naturally, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, a career-long, oil-industry shill from Oklahoma, has argued to pull out.
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Shill’s instillation centers on a large-scale curtain made of gold spandex.
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The girls are nothing more than fashion shills, and the men, too, are saying nothing more than, ‘
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Apparently Rolly was a gift from the CEO of an app that Kylie and Tyga helped shill.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shill.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of shill
perhaps short for shillaber, of unknown origin
SHILL Defined for English Language Learners
shill
playDefinition of shill for English Language Learners
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: to talk about or describe someone or something in a favorable way because you are being paid to do it
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