thimblerigging

verb

present participle of thimblerig
as in cheating
to rob by the use of trickery or threats had the feeling that I had just been thimblerigged by the sweetest-looking old lady

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for thimblerigging
  1. cheating
  2. squeezing
  3. plucking
  4. stinging
  5. hustling
  6. sticking
  7. beating
  8. screwing
Verb
  • The Model 3 and Model Y adopted less elaborate press-and-pivot handles, helping give the cars their clean, wind-cheating profiles.
    — Peter Lyon, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
  • The British-Argentine actor’s point has less to do with her conflicted con artist cheating death numerous times and besting her mobster in-laws, as well as the FBI.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of cheating
Verb
  • Squeeze your glutes, engage your core and drive your heels into the floor to raise your hips up to the ceiling while gently squeezing the ball.
    — Andee Tagle, NPR, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Google hasn't explained the cut, but the timing lines up with the same memory and AI infrastructure costs squeezing pricing across the entire industry this year.
    — Janhoi McGregor, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of squeezing
Verb
  • The streamer has found its leading lady for the biopic, plucking an unknown first-timer to play the sertanejo icon.
    — Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Dramatic photos taken from the scene show a firefighter on a tower ladder plucking a panicked child from a fire escape.
    — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of plucking
Verb
  • Battered fish and salt-and-vinegar-seasoned chips have been a staple for hundreds of years, best paired with stinging seaside winds and spray.
    — Will Barker, TheWeek, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Beneath Lamb’s unkempt appearance, crude manners, noxious flatulence, and stinging remarks lies one of the sharpest minds in MI5 and a man fiercely protective of his brood of misfits.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of stinging
Verb
  • Besides Instagram hustling and scouring job boards, entrepreneurial editors find gigs when creators call out for help.
    — Andrew Zucker, HollywoodReporter, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Devers, who finished with three hits, eschewed his power for small ball in the fifth, laying down a surprise bunt for a single, then hustling home on Susac’s sacrifice fly.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 31 July 2026
Definition of hustling
Verb
  • Small enough to be more cute than dangerous—but not worth sticking a finger in the water to test the theory.
    — Heather Greenwood Davis, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Florida Attorney General James Ulthmeier once again is grandstanding and sticking his nose into a national issue.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of sticking
Verb
  • Earlier polling showed Donalds beating Jolly by 5 points, according to the RealClearPolitics average of two polls that surveyed voters on a hypothetical matchup between the two front-runners.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 19 Aug. 2026
  • At the 2025 French Open, Loïs Boisson rode her wild card all the way to the semifinals, beating two top-10 players along the way.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of beating
Verb
  • There’s a storyline in season two about AI being employed at the hospital, then screwing everything up when the system goes down.
    — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The breeze was screwing with the sound system, and the temperature dropped abruptly.
    — Lily Goldberg, Pitchfork, 26 June 2026
Definition of screwing
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

thimblerigged
thimblerigging
thimblerigs
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Thimblerigging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thimblerigging. Accessed 23 Aug. 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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of prowess

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

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

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
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
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All