swindle
1 of 2verb
swin·dle ˈswin-dᵊl 
swindled; swindling ˈswin(d)-liŋ
ˈswin-dᵊl-iŋ
intransitive verb
: to obtain money or property by fraud or deceit
transitive verb
: to take money or property from by fraud or deceit
swindler
ˈswin(d)-lər
noun ˈswin-dᵊl-ər
swindle
2 of 2noun
: an act or instance of swindling : fraud
Synonyms
Verb
- beat
- bilk
- bleed
- cheat
- chisel
- chouse
- con
- cozen
- defraud
- diddle
- do
- do in
- euchre
- fiddle
- fleece
- flimflam
- gaff
- hose [slang]
- hustle
- mulct
- nobble [British slang]
- pluck
- ream
- rip off
- rook
- screw
- shake down
- short
- shortchange
- skin
- skunk
- squeeze
- stick
- stiff
- sting
- sucker
- thimblerig
- victimize
Noun
- bunco
- bunko
- con
- fiddle [chiefly British]
- flimflam
- fraud
- hustle
- scam
- shell game
- sting
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb hundreds of people were swindled out of their savings, and all they had to show for it were fake land deeds Noun a swindle that involved selling a lot of land that really didn't exist identity theft has become one of the most frequent and feared swindles of our time
Recent Examples on the Web
Reuters, CNN, 11 Aug. 2022 Genevieve Boghici then visited several other psychics, who used information provided by her daughter to swindle the woman out of more money, per Reuters. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Aug. 2022 Sanford Solny, who owns small residential buildings across the city, is accused by prosecutors of deed theft, a practice used to swindle homeowners out of their properties while leaving them stuck with the mortgage. New York Times, 3 Aug. 2022 Prosecutors have portrayed Balwani as a ruthless accomplice who helped Holmes swindle investors. CBS News, 21 June 2022 In 2003, he was convicted as the leader of an international plot to swindle dozens of Chinese immigrants out of their life savings. New York Times, 8 July 2022 So, Yuri is held captive and acts like Murray while Murray uses his fluent Russian skills to swindle the prison guards and get to Hop. Samantha Olson, Seventeen, 29 May 2022 Sorokin served about four years in prison after she was found guilty of swindling and attempting to swindle banks and hotels out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. NBC News, 10 Mar. 2022 The hot-ticket musical, about a con man who poses as a music instructor to swindle a small, Midwestern town, is directed by Jerry Zaks and produced by Barry Diller, David Geffen, Horton and Fictionhouse. Jordan Moreau, Variety, 11 Feb. 2022 Lance Eliot, Forbes, 2 July 2022 Most of all, there is Harold Hill’s charismatic swindle, winning over those Iowans — and us. Celia Wren, Washington Post, 1 July 2022 Paul Richard Scharf, 42, of St. Paul, was charged Friday with 16 felony counts including theft by swindle and embezzlement of public funds. Shannon Prather, Star Tribune, 4 Dec. 2020 Angered by the swindle, the tourists snatched the knapsack of the deal’s alleged go-between and demanded their money back in exchange for returning the bag, with the go-between’s cell phone inside, the prosecution alleged. NBC News, 18 Mar. 2022 Angered by the swindle, the tourists snatched the knapsack of the deal's alleged go-between and demanded their money back in exchange for returning the bag, with the go-between's cell phone inside, the prosecution alleged. Frances D'emilio, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2022 In the dead of night and on rural roads, a crime syndicate staged car crash after car crash to dupe police and swindle insurance companies out of nearly $1 million, federal prosecutors said this week. Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2022 But like the deal that gave Lüderitz control of the territory in 1883, the entire industry was something of a swindle. Joshua Hammer, The New York Review of Books, 19 Aug. 2021 The infamous architect of an epic securities swindle that burned thousands of investors, outfoxed regulators and earned him a 150-year prison term. Bernard Mcghee, ajc, 10 Dec. 2021 See More
Verb
Her arrest has exposed a disturbing web of fraud that police say lasted years and involved alleged psychics to swindle artwork by some of Brazil's most emblematic painters. Reuters, CNN, 11 Aug. 2022 Genevieve Boghici then visited several other psychics, who used information provided by her daughter to swindle the woman out of more money, per Reuters. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Aug. 2022 Sanford Solny, who owns small residential buildings across the city, is accused by prosecutors of deed theft, a practice used to swindle homeowners out of their properties while leaving them stuck with the mortgage. New York Times, 3 Aug. 2022 Prosecutors have portrayed Balwani as a ruthless accomplice who helped Holmes swindle investors. CBS News, 21 June 2022 In 2003, he was convicted as the leader of an international plot to swindle dozens of Chinese immigrants out of their life savings. New York Times, 8 July 2022 So, Yuri is held captive and acts like Murray while Murray uses his fluent Russian skills to swindle the prison guards and get to Hop. Samantha Olson, Seventeen, 29 May 2022 Sorokin served about four years in prison after she was found guilty of swindling and attempting to swindle banks and hotels out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. NBC News, 10 Mar. 2022 The hot-ticket musical, about a con man who poses as a music instructor to swindle a small, Midwestern town, is directed by Jerry Zaks and produced by Barry Diller, David Geffen, Horton and Fictionhouse. Jordan Moreau, Variety, 11 Feb. 2022 Noun
The only means to keep the swindle going was to force the conversation back into the script. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 2 July 2022 Most of all, there is Harold Hill’s charismatic swindle, winning over those Iowans — and us. Celia Wren, Washington Post, 1 July 2022 Paul Richard Scharf, 42, of St. Paul, was charged Friday with 16 felony counts including theft by swindle and embezzlement of public funds. Shannon Prather, Star Tribune, 4 Dec. 2020 Angered by the swindle, the tourists snatched the knapsack of the deal’s alleged go-between and demanded their money back in exchange for returning the bag, with the go-between’s cell phone inside, the prosecution alleged. NBC News, 18 Mar. 2022 Angered by the swindle, the tourists snatched the knapsack of the deal's alleged go-between and demanded their money back in exchange for returning the bag, with the go-between's cell phone inside, the prosecution alleged. Frances D'emilio, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2022 In the dead of night and on rural roads, a crime syndicate staged car crash after car crash to dupe police and swindle insurance companies out of nearly $1 million, federal prosecutors said this week. Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2022 But like the deal that gave Lüderitz control of the territory in 1883, the entire industry was something of a swindle. Joshua Hammer, The New York Review of Books, 19 Aug. 2021 The infamous architect of an epic securities swindle that burned thousands of investors, outfoxed regulators and earned him a 150-year prison term. Bernard Mcghee, ajc, 10 Dec. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Verb
back-formation from swindler, from German Schwindler giddy person, from schwindeln to be dizzy, from Old High German swintilōn, frequentative of swintan to diminish, vanish; akin to Old English swindan to vanish
First Known Use
Verb
1773, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Noun
1778, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
swindle 1 of 2
verb
swin·dle ˈswin-dəl
swindled; swindling
: to get money or property from dishonestly : cheat
swindle
2 of 2noun
: an act or instance of getting money or property from someone dishonestly
swindle 1 of 2
noun
as in scam
an instance of the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value identity theft has become one of the most frequent and feared swindles of our time Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- scam
- fraud
- con
- hoax
- scheme
- flimflam
- bunko
- bunco
- sting
- shell game
- fiddle
- trick
- hustle
- device
- racket
- cross
- counterfeit
- ploy
- stratagem
- fix
- dodge
- rip-off
- sham
- forgery
- fake
- pyramid scheme
- phony
- overcharging
- gouging
- jig
- wile
- gimmick
- Ponzi scheme
- sleight
- phoney
- soaking
- humbug
- thimblerig
- three-card monte
swindle
2 of 2verb
as in to cheat
to rob by the use of trickery or threats hundreds of people were swindled out of their savings, and all they had to show for it were fake land deeds Synonyms & Similar Words
- cheat
- sting
- squeeze
- pluck
- hustle
- defraud
- bilk
- deceive
- screw
- do
- con
- victimize
- stick
- trick
- beat
- sucker
- mulct
- fleece
- exploit
- flimflam
- shortchange
- cozen
- euchre
- fiddle
- short
- bleed
- nobble
- shake down
- gaff
- diddle
- skin
- rook
- fool
- chisel
- ream
- rip off
- skunk
- stiff
- chouse
- extort
- betray
- hose
- thimblerig
- take to the cleaners
- take for a ride
- wrench
- dupe
- gouge
- overcharge
- do in
- sell a bill of goods to
- gull
- nick
- wring
- clip
- milk
- bamboozle
- wrest
- soak
- double-cross
- bitch
- fast-talk
- rope (in)
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of swindle are cheat, cozen, and defraud. While all these words mean "to get something by dishonesty or deception," swindle implies large-scale cheating by misrepresentation or abuse of confidence.
swindled of their savings by con artists
The words cheat and swindle are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, cheat suggests using trickery that escapes observation.
cheated me out of a dollar
The synonyms cozen and swindle are sometimes interchangeable, but cozen implies artful persuading or flattering to attain a thing or a purpose.
always able to cozen her grandfather out of a few dollars
The meanings of defraud and swindle largely overlap; however, defraud stresses depriving one of his or her rights and usually connotes deliberate perversion of the truth.
defrauded of her inheritance by an unscrupulous lawyer