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

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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
  • That’s money competing directly against costs already squeezing this household.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The region is facing a housing shortage, with low stock and rising costs squeezing the market further.
    — P.R. Lockhart, Hartford Courant, 23 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
  • On the podcast, Sheridan acknowledged the Jimmy connection, while sticking in the nail in the coffin on the series.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026
  • That could be felt in a few months time as less snow sticking the foothills.
    — Sean Macaday, Sacbee.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of sticking
Verb
  • Mizzou fans fumed about beating KU but playing in the lesser bowl.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Clark won a solid 56% of the vote in the Democratic primary, beating Blair and others, and Chavez ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
    — Irene Wright, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of beating
Verb
  • The screwworm gets its name from the maggots’ habit of burrowing — or screwing — into a wound, according to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
    — Fabiola Sánchez, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2026
  • 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
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
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Cite this Entry

“Thimblerigging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thimblerigging. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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