shill

verb \ ˈshil \

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!

Recent Examples of shill from the Web

Trump’s shilling for an imaginary health care plan is as good a way as any to get real policy ideas rolling in.

— reihan salam, Slate Magazine, "Donald Trump’s Plan to Replace Obamacare Does Not Exist," 19 Jan. 2017
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

²shill

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1914

See Words from the same year

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

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
Others have accused Knoepfler of being a shill for Big Pharma, intent on suppressing alternatives to traditional drugs.

— kelly servick, Science | AAAS, "The rise of unproven stem cell therapies turned this obscure scientist into an industry watchdog," 3 Aug. 2017
Turns out Alex Jones is a complete shill while pretending to fight the power!

— tom philip, GQ, "John Oliver Dunked on Alex Jones Again and Again Last Night," 1 Aug. 2017

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

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

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shill

Definition of shill

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

Recent Examples of shill from the Web

Origin and Etymology of shill

shill

Definition of shill

Recent Examples of shill from the Web

Origin and Etymology of shill

SHILL Defined for English Language Learners

shill

Definition of shill for English Language Learners

Learn More about shill

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Definition of shill

From the M-W Editors

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

Recent Examples of shill from the Web

Origin and Etymology of shill

shill

Definition of shill

Recent Examples of shill from the Web

Origin and Etymology of shill

SHILL Defined for English Language Learners

shill

Definition of shill for English Language Learners

Learn More about shill

Seen and Heard

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Words at Play

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