as in cheated
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
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Recent Examples of bilked
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
Authorities arrested eight people accused of conducting a series of health care fraud schemes that bilked tens of millions of dollars from Medicare and other insurance companies across Southern California, prosecutors announced April 2.
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 3 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
We, too, are horrified by the betrayal of America’s social safety-net systems perpetrated by dozens of individuals in Minnesota who bilked at least $1 billion from taxpayers for non-existent services and clients.
—The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 20 Jan. 2026
Prosecutors say criminals also bilked millions of dollars from Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services program — which pays for help finding and keeping housing — as well as the state’s autism-services program by billing for appointments, therapy and casework that never took place.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 7 Dec. 2025
Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026
Authorities arrested eight people accused of conducting a series of health care fraud schemes that bilked tens of millions of dollars from Medicare and other insurance companies across Southern California, prosecutors announced April 2.
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 3 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
We, too, are horrified by the betrayal of America’s social safety-net systems perpetrated by dozens of individuals in Minnesota who bilked at least $1 billion from taxpayers for non-existent services and clients.
—The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 20 Jan. 2026
Prosecutors say criminals also bilked millions of dollars from Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services program — which pays for help finding and keeping housing — as well as the state’s autism-services program by billing for appointments, therapy and casework that never took place.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 7 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bilked
Verb
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The chat room was on fire, because Magnus Carlsen had lost to the kid—Hans Niemann—and then implied that Hans had cheated.—
Ben Mezrich,
Vanity Fair,
6 Apr. 2026
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Paul Bearman isn’t the type to just move on after he’s been cheated.—
Rich Schapiro,
NBC news,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Ten miles away, members of the Navy's SEAL Team Six plucked the missing weapons system officer from the mountainside.—
Lucia I Suarez Sang,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
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Deputies said the animals were tortured, mutilated, kept in coops with dead birds and live plucked.—
Timia Cobb,
Dallas Morning News,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The crowd applauded when Rahm took the bag from Garcia and started carrying it himself as caddie Adam Hayes hustled to catch up to the players.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
12 Apr. 2026
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Senior forward Amanda Ratz, a first-year varsity player, hustled to get to the ball, and then the Huskies were off to the races on a counterattack.—
Matt Le Cren,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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People have reported severe reactions, including anaphylaxis, after being stung by the ant.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2026
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Anthropic leaks its code; Mercor stung by data breach.—
John Kell,
Fortune,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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As a result, many consumers are feeling squeezed.—
Mike Winters,
CNBC,
10 Apr. 2026
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The only family in his murals was the one squeezed atop the lintel.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In a legal filing on Tuesday, Musk's lawyers laid out specific remedies their client is seeking if a judge and jury determine that Altman and OpenAI defrauded Musk, the world's richest person.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
8 Apr. 2026
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Musk is seeking more than $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, arguing that OpenAI defrauded him as a donor by restructuring the business away from its nonprofit roots.—
Rachyl Jones,
semafor.com,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Semi-screwed There’s a world in which Colby was the most screwed over by the rock draw — because Dee and Emily are friends who already played together, and both were aligned with Cirie — but that world is one in which he was not injured and likely limping out of the game anyway.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 Apr. 2026
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A lot of times, much of a Hollywood memoir is someone saying this person screwed me over, this bad thing happened, and so on.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The seizures were the result of an investigation launched after Andress reported to Swiss authorities that she had been swindled out of assets by financial advisers.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Mar. 2026
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But according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Santa Barbara, Ireland and her husband have been swindled out of their home equity and their life insurance policies, forced to sell their home, and left without substantial savings.—
Gene Maddaus,
Variety,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bilked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bilked. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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