cheat
verb /tʃiːt/
/tʃiːt/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they cheat | /tʃiːt/ /tʃiːt/ |
| he / she / it cheats | /tʃiːts/ /tʃiːts/ |
| past simple cheated | /ˈtʃiːtɪd/ /ˈtʃiːtɪd/ |
| past participle cheated | /ˈtʃiːtɪd/ /ˈtʃiːtɪd/ |
| -ing form cheating | /ˈtʃiːtɪŋ/ /ˈtʃiːtɪŋ/ |
- [transitive] to trick somebody or make them believe something that is not true
- cheat somebody/something She is accused of attempting to cheat the taxman.
- We will crack down on people who try to cheat the system.
- Many people feel cheated by the election process.
- cheat somebody out of something He cheated investors out of billions of dollars.
Synonyms cheatcheat- fool
- deceive
- betray
- take in
- trick
- con
- cheat to make somebody believe something that is not true, in order to get money or something else from them:
- She is accused of attempting to cheat the taxman.
- He cheated his way into the job.
- fool to make somebody believe something that is not true, especially in order to laugh at them or to get what you want:
- Just don’t be fooled into investing any money with them.
- deceive to make somebody believe something that is not true, especially somebody who trusts you, in order to get what you want:
- She deceived him into handing over all his savings.
- betray to hurt somebody who trusts you, especially by lying to or about them or telling their secrets to other people:
- She felt betrayed when she found out the truth about him.
- take somebody in [often passive] to make somebody believe something that is not true, usually in order to get what you want:
- I was taken in by her story.
- trick to make somebody believe something that is not true, especially in a clever way, in order to get what you want.
- con (informal) to make somebody believe something that is not true, especially in order to get money from them or get them to do something for you:
- They had been conned out of £100 000.
- Many of these words involve making somebody believe something that is not true, but some of them are more disapproving than others. Deceive is probably the worst because people typically deceive friends, relations and others who know and trust them. People may feel cheated/betrayed by somebody in authority who they trusted to look after their interests. If somebody takes you in, they may do it by acting a part and using words and charm effectively. If somebody cheats/fools/tricks/cons you, they may get something from you and make you feel stupid. However, somebody might fool you just as a joke; and to trick somebody is sometimes seen as a clever thing to do, if the person being tricked is seen as a bad person who deserves it.
- to cheat/fool/trick/con somebody out of something
- to cheat/fool/deceive/betray/trick/con somebody into doing something
- to feel cheated/fooled/deceived/betrayed/tricked/conned
- to fool/deceive yourself
- to cheat/trick/con your way into something
Extra Examples- Customers were cheated by unscrupulous retailers.
- Many people felt cheated by the government's refusal to hold another referendum.
- [intransitive] cheat (at something) to act in a dishonest way in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game, a competition, an exam, etc.
- He cheats at cards.
- (British English) Have you ever cheated in an exam?
- (North American English) Have you ever cheated on an exam?
- You're not allowed to look at the answers—that's cheating.
- Anyone caught cheating will be automatically disqualified from the examination.
- Why would anyone want to lie or cheat?
- [intransitive] cheat (on somebody) (of somebody who is married or who has a regular sexual partner) to have a secret sexual relationship with somebody else
- He’s cheating on his wife.
Word Originlate Middle English: shortening of escheat (the original sense) ‘land that is given back to the state or the lord if the owner dies without legal heirs’.
Idioms
cheat death
- (often used in newspapers) to survive in a situation where you could have died