con1 verbcon2 noun
concon1 /kɒn $ kɑːn/ verb (past tense and past participle conned, present participle conning) [transitive] informal 
WORD ORIGINcon1
Origin:
1800-1900 confidence trickVERB TABLE
con
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | con |
| he, she, it | cons | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | conned |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have conned |
| he, she, it | has conned | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had conned |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will con |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have conned |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am conning |
| he, she, it | is conning | |
| you, we, they | are conning | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was conning |
| you, we, they | were conning | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been conning |
| he, she, it | has been conning | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been conning |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be conning |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been conning |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- A man pretending to be a faith healer has conned around £20,000 out of desperate sick people.
- By the time she realized she had been conned, she had lost more than $3000.
- He was trying to con me, and I knew it.
- She conned me out of $50.
- She was too embarrassed to admit that they had conned her into buying 100 acres of worthless land.
- The old lady was conned out of her life savings by a crooked insurance dealer.
- They conned the school district into buying the property.
- But he tricked them out of the deeds, then conned them out of £85,000 to buy a Bentley.
- If something is popular then people are being conned.
- Most of the major services have received numerous complaints from users who have been conned into purchasing illegal software.
- Roy Grimshaw, 43, allegedly conned his way into the job using false references.
- The criminals conned victims into believing that they could earn money inspecting businesses for compliance with the law.
- Yesterday, a woman claimed the same charity had conned her out of more than three hundred pounds.
THESAURUSto get money or possessions dishonestly from someone
to deceive someone so that they do not get or keep something they have a right to: · He used his charm to cheat the old lady out of everything he could get.· He’s afraid they’ll cheat him after he hands over the money.
informal to get money from someone by telling them lies: · They conned her into spending thousands of pounds on useless equipment.· He conned money out of the public by pretending to collect for charity.
to get money from a person or organization by cheating them in a clever way: · The painting has been stolen and the art gallery has been swindled out of a large sum of money.· A City businessman who swindled investors out of millions of pounds was jailed for four years.
to commit the crime of getting money from an organization by deceiving them: · He admitted attempting to defraud his former employer of $1 million.· Johnson is accused of conspiring to defraud the taxman of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
informal especially British English to dishonestly stop someone from getting or keeping something, especially something they have a right to have: · They’ve done me out of three weeks wages!
especially written to make someone who trusts you believe something that is not true: · This was a deliberate attempt to deceive the public.
to make someone believe something that is not true, in order to get something from them or make them do something: · A man posing as an insurance agent had tricked her out of thousands of dollars.
to make someone believe something that is not true by using a clever but simple trick: · His hairpiece doesn’t fool anyone.
to make people believe something that is not true, by deliberately not giving them all the facts, or by saying something that is only partly true: · The company was accused of misleading customers about the nutritional value of the product.
informal to trick or deceive someone, especially so that they become involved in someone else’s dishonest activity without realizing it: · The spies duped government and military officials alike.
informal to trick someone, especially by telling them something that is not true: · I’m pretty good at judging people; I didn’t think he was trying to con me.
Longman Language Activatorto get money or possessions from someone dishonestly · He doesn't trust car mechanics -- he thinks they're all trying to cheat him.cheat somebody out of something · She says she was cheated out of $10,000 she paid to a modeling agency.· Cohen claimed that criminals posing as salesmen cheat Americans out of billions of dollars each year.
to get money from a person or organization by cheating them, especially using clever and complicated methods: · He was jailed in 1992 for attempting to swindle the insurance company he worked for.swindle somebody out of something: · Investors have been swindled out of millions of pounds.
especially spoken to persuade someone to buy something or to give you money by telling them lies: · By the time she realized she had been conned, she had lost more than $3000.con somebody out of something: · The old lady was conned out of her life savings by a crooked insurance dealer.con something out of somebody: · A man pretending to be a faith healer has conned around £20,000 out of desperate sick people.con somebody into doing something: · She was too embarrassed to admit that they had conned her into buying 100 acres of worthless land.
British informal to give false information or make dishonest changes to financial records, in order to get money or avoid paying money: · My boss thinks I've been fiddling my travel expenses.fiddle the books/fiddle the accounts (=change a company's financial records): · The company secretary has been fiddling the books for years.
to get money from a company or organization, especially a very large one, by deceiving it: · Trachtenberg is charged with attempting to defraud his business partner.defraud somebody (out) of something: · Between them they defrauded the company out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
informal to get a lot of money from someone by tricking them: · She fleeced him for everything he had.· Authorities estimate at least 300 elderly couples were fleeced in the scheme.fleece somebody of something: · She estimates he fleeced her of about £50,000 by tricking her into buying fake antiques.
to get money or possessions from someone, by tricking or deceiving them: · Police are warning residents to be on their guard after two men tricked a pensioner out of several hundred pounds.· Megan was tricked out of her life savings by a smooth-talking handsome man who had promised to marry her.
especially British, informal to cheat someone by not giving them money that they deserve or that they are owed: · The way I see it, they've done me out of three weeks' wages.· She's convinced the sales assistant did her out of £15.
spoken use this to say that someone has been cheated but they do not realize it: · I hate to tell you this but you've been had. The antique clock you bought is a phoney.
someone who tricks other people someone who tries to get money from people by tricking them: · A pair of con men have been tricking older people in the community out of their life savings.· Don't be fooled by con artists who promise enormous returns on your investment with no risk.· Petty scam artists victimize tourists on the streets.
informal a dishonest person who steals things or tricks people: · I wouldn't do business with him - he's a crook.· People have accused me of being a crook, but I didn't take any money that wasn't mine.
someone who pretends to have special skills and abilities and tricks people into believing them: · Some psychic charlatan convinced her she was going to die in six months.· Charlatans advertise a variety of fat-reducing treatments in the back of magazines.
informal a dishonest person who pretends to be a doctor who can cure diseases: · Larry paid some quack over a thousand dollars to cure his insomnia.· That quack doesn't know anything about treating heart disease.
American informal a dishonest person, especially a lawyer: · Their lawyer is a shyster who would do anything to win a case.· Once the shysters get involved, you can be sure we'll end up in court.
American someone who deceives people by persuading them to accept false information, solutions etc that are not effective: · Critics have called the Senator a smooth-talking snake-oil peddler.· Latenight TV is full of snake-oil salesmen offering get-rich-quick schemes.
to trick someone and make them believe something that is not true to make someone believe something that is not true, in order to get something from them or make them do something: · I realized then that I had been tricked, but it was too late.· I'm not trying to trick you - just answer the question.trick somebody into doing something: · The old man's sons had tricked him into signing the papers.trick somebody out of something (=take something from someone by tricking them): · A man posing as an insurance agent tricked her out of thousands of dollars.
informal to trick someone: · He was trying to con me, and I knew it.con somebody into doing something: · They conned the school district into buying the property.con somebody out of something (=take something from someone by tricking them): · She conned me out of $50.
especially written to make someone who trusts you believe something that is not true because it is useful for you if they believe it: · This was a deliberate attempt to deceive the public.· Many children's lies are unplanned and not actually designed to deceive.· All through the summer Paula was deceiving her husband while she was seeing another man.deceive somebody into doing something: · Thousands of home buyers were deceived into buying homes at inflated prices.deceive yourself: · If you think that everyone is happy with the plan, you're deceiving yourself.
to make someone believe something that is not true by using a clever but simple trick: · His hairpiece doesn't fool anyone.fool somebody into doing something: · They managed to fool the police into thinking they had left the country.have somebody fooled: · The brothers' act had us all fooled.you can't fool me spoken: · You can't fool me - I know he's already given you the money.fool yourself: · Maybe I was just fooling myself, but I really thought he liked me.
to make people believe something that is not true, by deliberately not giving them all the facts, or by saying something that is only partly true: · The report is a deliberate and obvious attempt to mislead.· They were accused of misleading customers about the nutritional value of their product.mislead somebody into doing something: · Agents are accused of misleading clients into signing up for savings plans that were actually insurance policies.
to trick someone into doing something that they will be punished for or embarrassed by: · He said, following his arrest last fall, that the FBI had set him up.· Terry and Donald think I set them up, but it's all a big misunderstanding.
informal to deceive someone, especially someone who is cleverer than you are, or someone who is not easily deceived: · That's the last time he puts one over on me!· Lawyers claim that the tobacco industry, by failing to tell everything it knew about smoking, was putting one over on its customers.
informal to deceive someone, usually by hiding some facts or information: · Don't try and pull the wool over my eyes - I can tell you've been smoking.· The politicians are just trying to pull the wool over voters' eyes again.
to make someone believe you and trust you, especially by making them think you are romantically interested in them: · I can't tell if he really cares about me or if he's just leading me on?· I didn't mean to lead Cassie on, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings either.
informal to deceive someone, especially so that you can get their money: · I'd already given him £50 when I realized he was taking me for a ride.· After the deal was signed, I felt like I'd been taken for a ride.
to cheat someone you pretended to be helping or working with, especially by helping their enemies: · I'm warning you - if you double-cross me, I'll kill you.· Harry and Danny double-crossed the gang and escaped with all the money.
informal to trick or deceive someone, especially so that they become involved in someone else's dishonest activity without realizing it: · The spies duped government and military officials alike.dupe somebody into doing something: · The perpetrators of the hoax managed to dupe respectable journalists into printing their story.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
We’re still weighing up the pros and cons (=the advantages and disadvantages) of the two options.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN
We’re still weighing up the pros and cons (=the advantages and disadvantages) of the two options.· Roy Grimshaw, 43, allegedly conned his way into the job using false references.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► con merchant/speed merchant etc
1to get money from someone by deceiving them SYN swindlecon somebody out of something- I have all mod cons and Mrs B. All I have to do is relax.
- Peugeot and Citroen countered that by providing diesel models decked out with all mod cons.
- The little Peugeot has all mod cons with power steering and an air bag.
- The property has many interesting features and all mod cons.
- After listening to the pros and cons, Eisenhower gave him permission to go ahead.
- Again, two subgroups were formed to meet and discuss the pros and cons of the various structural alternatives.
- Each has its pros and cons.
- Here are a few candidates with the pros and cons of each.
- Such issues must be considered thoroughly and carefully; every scheme has its pros and cons.
- The pros and cons of taking disulfiram are weighed.
- The focus of the drama shifts to discovering the dangers, and weighing up pros and cons of using the magic carpet.
He conned me out of £300.2to persuade someone to do something by deceiving them SYN trickcon somebody into doing something You had no right to con me into thinking I could trust you.con1 verbcon2 noun
concon2 noun [countable] informal WORD ORIGINcon2
Origin:
1 1800-1900 ➔ CON12 1800-1900 ➔ CONVICT1EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- A lot of people gave money to the charity collectors, not realising it was a con.
- Newman and Redford play a couple of guys working an elaborate con.
- She wanted me to visit a fortune-teller but I thought it was all a big con trick.
- Here are a few candidates with the pros and cons of each.
- However, Kurtz is not heavy-handed, laying out the pros and cons of talk culled from years of exhaustive reporting.
- No one to care about, which is what makes him free enough to be a good con man.
- Recent weeks have seen it ride roughshod over ostrich breeders, society con artists, champagne fraudsters and the occasional fallen tycoon.
- The focus of the drama shifts to discovering the dangers, and weighing up pros and cons of using the magic carpet.
Longman Language Activatorthe good and bad features of something
the good and bad features of something -- use this especially when you are comparing what is good and what is bad about something: · Being an only child has both advantages and disadvantages.the advantages and disadvantages of something: · the advantages and disadvantages of owning a car in the cityweigh the advantages and disadvantages of something (=to consider the advantages and disadvantages of something): · Politicians should carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages of committing US troops to this conflict.
the advantages and disadvantages of something that you need to think about in order to make a decision: the pros and cons of: · There has been a lot of discussion about the pros and cons of making certain types of drugs legal.· Your doctor should explain the pros and cons of the different treatments available.weigh up the pros and cons (=think about the advantages and disadvantages): · Karen and David weighed up the pros and cons of having another child and decided against it.
the advantages and disadvantages of something such as a plan or method that you consider before you do something, or that you notice after it has been done: the pluses and minuses of: · She talked about some of the pluses and minuses of being self-employed.
when people are dishonest in order to get money the crime of getting money dishonestly from a big organization, for example by giving false information or changing documents, especially over a long time: · Big losses due to theft and fraud forced the company to close.· Landale is calling for more laws to protect consumers against fraud.
informal a method, usually used by several people working together, who cheat someone by making them believe something that is not true: · I spent more than $4000 before I realized the whole thing was a scam.scam to do something: · She and her boyfriend were involved in a scam to get $5 million from the company.tax scam (=a way of dishonestly avoiding paying tax)
a well-planned and often complicated arrangement to cheat people: · Young was convicted for his participation in a $2 million stock swindle.· The whole property development proposal was a swindle. They never intended to build anything.
British a situation in which people are cheated, especially in small ways over a long period of time: · The firm realised some sort of fiddle was going on, but they had no idea how much they were losing.work a fiddle (=do a fiddle): · Managers don't really get paid much here, but most of them are working a few fiddles.
a method or process of persuading someone to buy something or to give you money by telling them lies: · A lot of people gave money to the charity collectors, not realising it was a con.con trick British: · She wanted me to visit a fortune-teller but I thought it was all a big con trick.
an illegal business that is used by criminals to make a large profit for themselves: · The FBI believe they have found the real criminals behind a big gambling racket.· The Mafia runs a highly sophisticated drugs racket.
a trick a clever plan designed to make someone believe something that you want them to believe, or do something that you want them to do: · He pretended to be sick as a trick to get her to visit him.· Don't send her any money - it might be a trick.a trick question (=a question that is cleverly designed to make someone give a wrong answer): · He refused to answer, suspecting they were asking him a trick question.
a clever plan designed to harm someone, for example by making them go somewhere where they will be caught or attacked, or making them say something they will be punished for: · I didn't take the money with me, because I was worried it might be a trap.· Sensing the lawyer's trap, Horvath refused to answer.
especially written something that is said or done with the deliberate intention of deceiving people: · Ann quickly saw through his lies and deceptions.· What began as a misunderstanding quickly became a deliberate deception on the part of the network.
a trick, especially one that is amusing and not very serious: · It was just a ruse to get what I wanted!· She asked to use the telephone as a ruse to enter the house.
a false warning about something dangerous, given especially to someone in an official position, for example the police: · To everybody's great relief, the bomb scare turned out to be a hoax.· I got an email about another computer virus, but I'm pretty sure it's just a hoax.
informal a trick to get someone's money or make someone do something: · The two men were involved in an elaborate con to cheat investors out of their money.· Senior citizens are usually easy targets for con games.
when something that happens is not what it seems to be, and is really an attempt to deceive people: · Journalists suspected that the kidnapping was a put-up job.· The demonstration was a put-up job, organized by the authorities so they could arrest the cult leaders.
informal a clever and dishonest plan to get money: · The welfare scam was costing the federal government hundreds of thousands of dollars.· The offer of a "free" vacation to Florida sounds like a scam to me.
a trick that is intended to take someone's attention away from what someone else is trying to do: · Some of the prisoners started a fight as a diversion to give the others time to escape.create a diversion: · Rioters created a diversion by setting fire to vehicles close to the police station.
a person or thing that is used to trick someone by taking their attention away from an illegal or criminal act: · You act as a decoy and we'll sneak out the back.· The burglars started the fire as a decoy so that they could escape from police.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES We’re still weighing up the pros and cons (=the advantages and disadvantages) of the two options.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
We’re still weighing up the pros and cons (=the advantages and disadvantages) of the two options.· The little Peugeot has all mod cons with power steering and an air bag.· All mod cons, including stereo, video, fax and voicemail.· Peugeot and Citroen countered that by providing diesel models decked out with all mod cons.· It provides every mod con for high-tech tenants: built-in computer networking and high-speed internet access.· I have all mod cons and Mrs B. All I have to do is relax.· Plus, all mod cons: The country life ... Forties-style.· The property has many interesting features and all mod cons.
NOUN· Recent weeks have seen it ride roughshod over ostrich breeders, society con artists, champagne fraudsters and the occasional fallen tycoon.· These people-part actor, part con artist-are paid to create what we used to trust as word-of-mouth.· La Tour was a master of light whose subjects ranged from con artists to saints.· Thorn is determined to prove that Bilko is not just a con artist but a crook.· Hayes is part-time con artist, part-time investigator.· Mel Stewart brings an appealing believability to the role of veteran con artist Blue.· Woodstock police warn that a group of door-to-door con artists were last seen...
· Dinner Chilli con carne with brown rice, fresh green salad, fat-free yoghurt.· He can't even taste the chili con carne she has waiting for him.
· He's one of the biggest con men in politics, and that's saying something.· No one to care about, which is what makes him free enough to be a good con man.· The screenplay focuses on the incongruous and interdependent friendship between a dimwitted stud and a petty con man.· Now we have a better understanding of why con men like to target little old ladies.· Attorney Randall D.. Eliason said Brown was nothing but a con man.· A suspected con man is said to keep an AK-47 in the safe by his bed.· Ice-the street-tough con man.· News of his powers attracts con men, fanatics and hustlers to his ministry.
· This is a wicked of police corruption, media con tricks and celebrity scandals.
VERB· Drugs are one option, and you should discuss the pros and cons of these with your doctor.· Again, two subgroups were formed to meet and discuss the pros and cons of the various structural alternatives.· In the text, we discuss the pros and cons of the Tiebout principle itself.· At first he assumed that he had dreamed of discussing the pros and cons of murdering Ivor Newley with Dougal.
· The focus of the drama shifts to discovering the dangers, and weighing up pros and cons of using the magic carpet.· Perhaps, although we carefully weighed the pros and cons.· Rab weighed the cons and heard the rats.· During the past few months, we have again weighed upthe pros and cons of reapplying now, or waiting for the time being.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► con merchant/speed merchant etc
1a trick to get someone’s money or make them do something: - I have all mod cons and Mrs B. All I have to do is relax.
- Peugeot and Citroen countered that by providing diesel models decked out with all mod cons.
- The little Peugeot has all mod cons with power steering and an air bag.
- The property has many interesting features and all mod cons.
- After listening to the pros and cons, Eisenhower gave him permission to go ahead.
- Again, two subgroups were formed to meet and discuss the pros and cons of the various structural alternatives.
- Each has its pros and cons.
- Here are a few candidates with the pros and cons of each.
- Such issues must be considered thoroughly and carefully; every scheme has its pros and cons.
- The pros and cons of taking disulfiram are weighed.
- The focus of the drama shifts to discovering the dangers, and weighing up pros and cons of using the magic carpet.
a con to make people pay for goods they hadn’t actually received2a prisoner → mod cons, → the pros and cons at pro1(3)