SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

1

shill

verb \ ˈshil \

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

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

See shill defined for English-language learners

shill was our Word of the Day on 08/16/2015. Hear the podcast!

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Recent Examples of shill from the Web

This is a vision of the nation that has been sold to us by a generation of politicians who talk brave and act gutless, and by the carny shills in the employ of the industries of death.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "If Newtown Wasn't Enough, Why Would Las Vegas Be Enough?," 2 Oct. 2017
These stories earned a good bit of news coverage, but one White House-shilling network in particular has been, more or less, hyperventilating for twelve consecutive hours now.

— luke darby, GQ, "How Fox News Is Desperately Trying to Spin the Manafort Indictment Story," 31 Oct. 2017
Ford Times was a house-organ publication that shilled the virtues of owning, not surprisingly, a Ford automobile.

— peter tertzakian, USA TODAY, "Analysis: Are combustion engines reaching peak demand?," 23 Oct. 2017
Even though big-name Democrats are hastening to dump Weinstein’s donations as if the cash were on fire, some progressives are still shilling for the powerful exec.

— alexandra desanctis, National Review, "The Left Stays Largely Silent on Weinstein Scandal," 8 Oct. 2017
Even Kellogg’s Kashi line of high-fiber, protein-rich cereals have shed sales in recent years, inviting criticism that big food companies have trouble shilling better-for-you options.

— matthew boyle, Bloomberg.com, "Kellogg Hires Nature's Bounty CEO in Turnaround Bid," 28 Sep. 2017
In late August, the former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino appeared on Fox News to shill for Trump.

— alexander nazaryan, Newsweek, "Donald Trump Slept Here—and So Did I: A Visit to a Presidential Home in Queens," 8 Sep. 2017
And corporations shilling everything from gasoline to overalls often called on Hatch for mammoth adverts.

— jon waterhouse, CNN, "Hatch Show Print: Inside a Nashville institution," 7 June 2017

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1914

See Words from the same year

2

shill

noun

Definition of shill

1 a : 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

The Squids set up fake email accounts to communicate with Adrian, a suspicious shill character created by designer Jesse Martinez.

— eric thurm, WIRED, "An Alternate Reality Game That Takes Freshmen Orientation to a New Level," 25 Mar. 2018
Kelly’s campaign was run by Mike Joyce, son of 19th Ward political powerbroker Jeremiah Joyce, and Sullivan charged Kelly was a shill the Joyces were running to dilute the anti-Lipinski vote.

— john byrne, chicagotribune.com, "Newman trying to turn progressive energy into votes against the Lipinski brand," 12 Mar. 2018
Irving was one of its chief shills, and for a decade traveled the globe spewing pro-Nazi revisions of history.

— jerad w. alexander, Esquire, "A Holocaust Historian Explains Why People Believe Trump's Lies," 17 Feb. 2017
The narrative drums along that Mr. Marino was a shill for the pharmaceutical lobby.

— the editorial board, WSJ, "A Bipartisan Drug Cartel?," 24 Oct. 2017
At a busy and sometimes tense fall meeting, the Democratic National Committee officially banned donations from some corporate sources — then approved a number of new DNC members who have been denounced by activists as corporate shills.

— david weigel, Washington Post, "Democrats ban some corporate donations while approving controversial new member list," 21 Oct. 2017
The haters likely will look at Brewlab as a corporate shill posing as a microbrew to win back Seattle.

— tan vinh, The Seattle Times, "Redhook may still be corporate, but its new Brewlab isn’t half bad," 6 Sep. 2017
What’s worse, however, is the product the Times has allowed Prince to shill: mercenaries that, under Prince, committed war crimes in Iraq.

— sarah jones, New Republic, "Why is The New York Times op-ed page publishing Erik Prince’s sales pitch for more mercenaries?," 30 Aug. 2017
The real news here is Malignaggi, a Showtime analyst who will work the bout, is nothing more than a shill for the fight.

— tim dahlberg, The Seattle Times, "Mayweather, McGregor still trying to hype their fight," 5 Aug. 2017

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1916

See Words from the same year

SHILL Defined for English Language Learners

shill

verb

Definition of shill for English Language Learners

: to talk about or describe someone or something in a favorable way because you are being paid to do it

Learn More about shill

See words that rhyme with shill Nglish: Translation of shill for Spanish speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up shill? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

WORD OF THE DAY

bloviate

play

to speak or write verbosely and windily

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Shilingol

Shilka

shill

shillaber

shillelagh

Test Your Vocabulary

Odd Habits and Quirks Quiz

Which of the following best describes an easily irritated person?

Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ

Dictionary Devil

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

Words from Letters in the Greek Alphabet

When English borrows from another alphabet

alt-5ada140ed3e28

'Preventive' or 'Preventative'?

alt-5ad8fc71357ed

Words We're Watching: 'Bluebeard,' the Verb

No, it's not a coiffure trend

alt-5ad8d3361fb97

Where 'Cliff-hangers' Come From

You're on the edge of your seat

Ask the Editors

2017 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

How we chose 'feminism'

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066

Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

video-literally

Literally

How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.

video-his-or-her

Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

The awkward case of 'his or her'

Word Games

Odd Habits and Quirks Quiz

Test your knowledge of strange human behaviors.

Take the quiz

cats-on-impossible-timber

More Confusing Words—Quiz

How many of these commonly confused words do you know?

Take the quiz

Name That Thing

Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz

Dictionary Devil

Dictionary Devil

The dictionary has been scrambled—can you put it back together?

Play the game

Editor's Note: Did You Know?