as in cheat
a dishonest person who uses clever means to cheat others out of something of value
people who lost money in the scheme discovered that the investment company was a fake and the "owner" just a bilk
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to cheat
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
an investigation revealed that the garage had been bilking motorists for repairs that had never been made
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bilk
Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2025
And, despite its super hinky backstory, a bronze behemoth of bilk is taking shape in Everett.
—Yvonne Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 17 May 2018
Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025
Two former Stockman staffers also were found guilty in a scheme to bilk conservative foundations out of at least $775,000 that was meant for charitable purposes and voter education.
—David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bilk
Noun
Fake invoices, bilks ‘restricted funds’ Jackson and court records show Gatlin approved hundreds of invoices for services and items that were never provided to the Foundation.
—Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2025
And, despite its super hinky backstory, a bronze behemoth of bilk is taking shape in Everett.
—Yvonne Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 17 May 2018
Verb
Holmes was convicted in 2022 of four counts of felony fraud for bilking investors in her now-defunct Palo Alto blood-testing startup out of hundreds of millions of dollars via false claims about the technology.
—Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025
Two former Stockman staffers also were found guilty in a scheme to bilk conservative foundations out of at least $775,000 that was meant for charitable purposes and voter education.
—David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bilk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bilk
Noun
-
Others might feel the author cheats here, leaving it up to the reader to decide.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
11 Jan. 2026
-
The movie follows a group of petty cheats, liars and drunks who are duped by nefarious opportunists who visit their crumbling town.—
John Penner,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The Panthers squeezed a few end-of-career seasons out of guys such as Dino Ciccarelli and Igor Larionov.—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Instead, 2026 is about building both stylish and sensible outfits that can take you from the airport to the streets with maximum versatility without ever squeezing into tight, form-fitting fabric.—
Merrell Readman,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But my collection intentionally ignored the fraudulent exploits of billionaire heirs, tax dodgers and corporate magnates — defense contracts, government lobbying, bank accounts in Switzerland, shell companies in Panama, citizenship of Antigua and political asylum in London.—
Snigdha Poonam,
The Dial,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Denise Rich, a Democratic donor, gave four hundred and fifty thousand dollars to his Presidential-library foundation, and Clinton, on his final day in office, pardoned her ex-husband, Marc Rich, a tax dodger and a sanctions evader who’d fled to Switzerland.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
11 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Caitlin Looby Last August, Lauren Isbell dove around Mott Island Dock at Isle Royale National Park, plucking invasive zebra mussels from the lakebed – sometimes with her fingers, other times with a credit-card sized piece of plastic attached to a lanyard on her wrist.—
Caitlin Looby,
jsonline.com,
20 Jan. 2026
-
He was plucked out of the basic-cable mines by Survivor’s creator, Mark Burnett, a British TV producer with a feel for brutal social drama.—
David Canfield,
Vanity Fair,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The director points to a mid-film scene in a bowling alley, where Marty and his friend Wally (Tyler Okonma, aka Tyler, the Creator) hustle a small-town crew, as an example of its importance.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Wing/forward Cam Whitmore did not hustle back on defense and continued to play with tunnel vision on offense.—
Josh Robbins,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
University of Miami fans, still stinging after a dramatic loss to Indiana in the national championship football game, turned their attention to the men’s basketball team on Tuesday night.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
20 Jan. 2026
-
If someone gets stung, they're advised to notify a lifeguard and immerse the area in hot water to reduce pain.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Those fixers would then bet against the players' teams in those games, defrauding sportsbooks and other bettors, authorities said.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
16 Jan. 2026
-
Then the fixers placed big bets against those players’ teams in those games, defrauding sportsbooks and other bettors, according to the indictment unsealed Thursday.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Got screwed when the referee missed an obvious blow to the head that gave the Pats a field goal.—
Nick Canepa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Cameramen everywhere are getting screwed by Hudson Williams’s favorite pose, the double-bird.—
Vulture Editors,
Vulture,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bilk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bilk. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
