fraud
Americannoun
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deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage.
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a particular instance of such deceit or trickery.
mail fraud; election frauds.
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any deception, trickery, or humbug.
That diet book is a fraud and a waste of time.
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a person who makes deceitful pretenses; sham; poseur.
noun
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deliberate deception, trickery, or cheating intended to gain an advantage
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an act or instance of such deception
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something false or spurious
his explanation was a fraud
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informal a person who acts in a false or deceitful way
Related Words
See duplicity.
Other Word Forms
- antifraud adjective
- fraudful adjective
- fraudfully adverb
- prefraud noun
Etymology
Origin of fraud
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English fraude, from Old French, from Medieval Latin fraud-, stem of fraus “deceit, injury”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Importers that suddenly lower the declared value of goods can receive heavy scrutiny from customs officials wary of fraud.
The stakes are high for her and anyone else who may be unaware that their tax preparer cut corners or committed fraud — even if it happened decades ago, the court papers said.
From MarketWatch
A former presiding judge of the county’s Superior Court, Daniel Buckley, was also brought on to vet DTLA’s cases following the allegations of fraud.
From Los Angeles Times
The administration, Mr. Oz said, has notified Minnesota that it is “deferring” $259 million in quarterly Medicaid payments to the state until it acts to get its fraud under control.
The second committee also failed to find any evidence of fraud.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
