Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To cheat or defraud of money or property.
  • intransitive verb To obtain by fraudulent means.
  • intransitive verb To practice fraud as a means of obtaining money or property.
  • noun The act or an instance of swindling.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To cheat or defraud. The word implies, commonly, recourse to petty and mean artifices for obtaining money which may or may not be strictly illegal.
  • noun The act or process of swindling; a fraudulent scheme; an act of cheating; an imposition; a fraud.
  • noun Anything that is deceptive or not what it is said or thought to be.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To cheat defraud grossly, or with deliberate artifice.
  • noun The act or process of swindling; a cheat.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive to defraud (someone)
  • verb intransitive to obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
  • noun an instance of swindling

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the act of swindling by some fraudulent scheme
  • verb deprive of by deceit

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Back-formation from swindler, one who swindles, from German Schwindler, giddy person, cheat, from schwindeln, to be dizzy, swindle, from Middle High German, from Old High German swintilōn, frequentative of swintan, to disappear.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle High German, from Old High German swintiln, frequentative of the verb swintan, compare Modern German schwindeln.

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