as in cheats
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 plucks
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
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Recent Examples of bilks
Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bilks
Noun
-
Iran lies, cheats, blusters and bullies.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The world is full of bad actors—cheats, liars, tyrants, sickos—who are, ultimately, mere human beings; at least, this was how rationality would have it.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But if Rick later plucks something from behind that rock at the fire, are others going to start poking around looking for stuff?—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Mar. 2026
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The first layer, called the Level-1 Trigger, or L1T, harvests 100,000 events per second, and the second layer, called the High-Level Trigger, or HLT, plucks 1,000 of those events to save for later analysis.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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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
Verb
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Drew Angerer / Getty Images file For months, school officials have floated proposals to relocate or close at least four middle schools on the Upper West Side, citing low enrollment, funding squeezes, academic performance and compliance with a 2022 law requiring class-size reductions by 2028.—
Matt Lavietes,
NBC news,
1 Mar. 2026
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While most bullion coins track spot closely, certain products remain in higher demand during supply squeezes or retail rushes.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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There do not seem to be sharks circling.—
Xuan Juliana Wang,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
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Ostriches, for example, are highly resistant to viruses, while sharks rarely develop cancer.—
Mallory Locklear,
Hartford Courant,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In games like Tuesday, when that deep postseason run seems realistic, UCLA pops the ball around on offense and communicates and hustles to overcome its deficiencies on defense.—
Aaron Heisen,
Daily News,
6 Mar. 2026
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Compared to the behemoth Acela, which hustles hundreds of thousands of riders between Boston, New York City, and Washington DC each month, Amtrak's Mardi Gras line is downright petite—just two 58-seat coaches, plus a café car and a 14-seat Business Class car.—
Kara Newman,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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This scam, according to Kent, could be proliferated with the use of AI, which can allow swindlers to enroll in many different college programs at once.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
21 Jan. 2026
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Good afternoon and welcome to Con Con, the convention for swindlers, mountebanks, and the people who love them.—
Henry Alford,
New Yorker,
1 Dec. 2025
Verb
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That role, and the vitriol from within the industry toward the movie (a flop turned cult favorite), still stings.—
Cat Woods,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Mar. 2026
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The result stings, but the fightback should give them confidence to carry forward.—
Sukhman Singh,
New York Times,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bilks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bilks. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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