bilked

past tense of bilk

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 bilked Jason Cloth, a film producer with dozens of credits including Joker, Longlegs and Babylon, is facing numerous federal fraud charges and decades in prison in connection with a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors of more than $100 million. Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 29 July 2026 Federal prosecutors allege Eidleh was the mastermind who bilked taxpayers out of $250 million by exploiting federal child nutrition programs meant to feed vulnerable children. Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 16 July 2026 The Justice Department said that the disgraced former executive bilked the museum out of the money by altering invoices and approving transactions for personal purchases. News Desk, Artforum, 14 July 2026 Lawmakers have griped for decades that defense contractors have bilked the federal government on lucrative projects that run over budget and over schedule. Garrett Downs, CNBC, 14 July 2026 Multiple scams over the course of three days bilked Washington state residents out of more than $670,000, according to a Facebook post from the local sheriff’s office. Drew Pittock, USA Today, 5 July 2026 Twenty-one people are facing charges as part of a massive hospice fraud scheme that prosecutors say bilked California’s medical system out of $267 million. Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026 In total, prosecutors say the fraud scheme bilked the program out of more than $250 million. Wcco Staff, CBS News, 19 Feb. 2026 Meanwhile, California continued blowing money on a high-speed rail project that is years behind schedule and billions over budget, was bilked for billions in fraud, and funded an anti-homelessness bureaucracy with no accountability, among other things. Matt Fleming, Oc Register, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bilked
Verb
  • Not to be cheated in front of the largest assembly of Hall of Famers since the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, Schwarber flew out twice to deep center field.
    Dan Hayes, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Bo told Lu that if the audit produced evidence that he had been cheated, Wang should go to prison.
    Hailey Wang, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • He was plucked out of retirement to take on the demanding role of helping in the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Doubs plucked the ball over Gonzalez, who had successfully backed him near the boundary but couldn’t box out the 6-foot-2 receiver entirely.
    Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 10 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Hate crime charges have been filed against a man who disrupted Shabbat services in Manhattan's Central Synagogue and struck two people while being hustled outside Friday night.
    ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Hong’s early capture of the data-center issue, which was not especially ideological, is a good example of how consistently the Party’s much larger traditional wing has been out-hustled.
    Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Spray the nest from a distance to reduce the chances of being stung.
    Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
  • More than 3,100 people have been stung at Bolsa Chica and Huntington State Beach so far this year, which is at least double last year's total.
    Michele Gile, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Silver is now in its fifth straight year of structural deficit, squeezed by solar, electric vehicles, and the hardware powering AI.
    Rob Kaplan, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Affordability does not improve when Washington adds trillions to the debt while working families are still getting squeezed.
    Terry Collins, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Five residents of Broward and Palm Beach County are among seven people accused in a nearly $100 million scheme that defrauded workers’ compensation insurers through shell companies, state officials announced Wednesday.
    Angie DiMichele, Sun Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Between 2019 and 2023, FBI Director Kash Patel explained during the news conference, the scheme defrauded over 6,000 Americans to the tune of $400 million.
    Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The hardest physical part was actually taking down the old blinds, which had been screwed tightly into the window frame years prior.
    Scott Kramer, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • But the war needs to end because every day that the war continues, America gets weaker, Iran gets stronger, and people here in the United States get screwed, as prices go up, and up and up.
    NBC news, NBC news, 9 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Other gamblers just don’t want to get swindled, so anything that smacks too clearly of insider trading can get you in trouble.
    Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026
  • While the men whom Chen allegedly swindled began to grow suspicious of her actions around 2024, the Clark County Marriage Bureau reported her to the police, resulting in the launch of an investigation around the same time.
    Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 16 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Bilked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bilked. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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