1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

buncos

noun

variants or bunkos
plural of bunco
as in scams
an instance of the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value they were experts at that bunco, having fleeced wide-eyed tourists for years

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for buncos
  1. scams
  2. shell games
Noun
  • Victims have lost tens of billions to scams carried out by hundreds of thousands of people forced to keep the schemes going.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026
  • For simple, real-world ways to spot scams early and stay protected, visit –trusted by millions who watch CyberGuy on TV daily.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of scams
Noun
  • Fortunately, the authors of the study point out several things states can and should do to prevent these kinds of financial shell games.
    — Peter Ubel, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • Budget shell games, in other words.
    — The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 21 Oct. 2025
Definition of shell games
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.

Browse Nearby Words

bunco
buncos
bundle
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Buncos.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buncos. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All