embezzle

verb

Definition of embezzlenext
as in to steal
to steal money that you have been trusted with He was caught embezzling money from his clients.

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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 embezzle The government is attempting to improve shattered services and open up an economy closed by the corrupt Assad regime, which ran the economy with an iron fist and embezzled billions for the Assad clan and their allies. — Taylor Luck, Christian Science Monitor, 28 Sep. 2026 Wilson was installed as interim mayor two years ago, after former Mayor Charles Griffin was convicted of embezzling between $10,000 and $100,000 of public funds to benefit himself and others close to him. — Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 25 Sep. 2026 The second charge involved a package in January 2025, when prosecutors alleged Wallace embezzled a parcel entrusted to her as a Postal Service employee. — Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 21 Sep. 2026 The former state senator was sentenced to two years for embezzling funds. — Suzanne Van Atten, AJC.com, 24 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for embezzle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for embezzle
  1. steal
  2. usurp
  3. misappropriate
Verb
  • Prosecutors said Sherman, from September 2015 through May 2025, stole nearly $18 million from her employer to pay off her extravagant credit card expenses.
    — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The denial comes as blockchain analytics firms trace billions of dollars in cryptocurrency stolen from Binance through thousands of wallets across multiple blockchains.
    — Jenny Lee, CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of steal
Verb
  • But having your name be usurped by a bag is a strangely dehumanizing experience.
    — Marisa Meltzer, Vanity Fair, 19 Oct. 2026
  • By the time the coffee shop building was going up at the end of the route in 1959, Fresco said, interstate freeways were already beginning to usurp Route 66’s role and the Santa Monica route of Interstate 10 had been plotted.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of usurp
Verb
  • In Marshall, college football players sued TV networks for allegedly misappropriating their likenesses by showing them in game broadcasts without pay.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Some Buddhist temples in Thailand are extremely wealthy because worshippers donate large amounts as a way of making religious merit, and the country has seen cases of senior monks being accused of misappropriating temple funds.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of misappropriate

Browse Nearby Words

embellishments
embezzle
embezzled
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Cite this Entry

“Embezzle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/embezzle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

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