to lie (to) or behave dishonestly (with): [no obj]:She had a bad experience in Italy with a street merchant who cheated.[~ + object]She cheated me.[~ + object + out of + object]She cheated me out of my inheritance.
to violate rules or agreements: [no object]They were afraid the enemy would cheat during any weapons inspection.[ ~ + at + obj]:to cheat at cards.
to take an examination in a dishonest way, such as by having improper means of getting answers:[no object]I'm sure she was cheating on that test.
Informal Termscheat on,[~ + on + object] to be sexually unfaithful to (someone).
[~ + object] to get away from; escape from: to cheat death.
to defraud; swindle:He cheated her out of her inheritance.
to deceive; influence by fraud:He cheated us into believing him a hero.
to elude; deprive of something expected:He cheated the law by suicide.
v.i.
to practice fraud or deceit:She cheats without regrets.
to violate rules or regulations:He cheats at cards.
to take an examination or test in a dishonest way, as by improper access to answers.
Informal Termsto be sexually unfaithful (often fol. by on):Her husband knew she had been cheating all along. He cheated on his wife.
n.
a person who acts dishonestly, deceives, or defrauds:He is a cheat and a liar.
a fraud; swindle; deception:The game was a cheat.
Lawthe fraudulent obtaining of another's property by a pretense or trick.
an impostor:The man who passed as an earl was a cheat.
1325–75; Middle English chet (noun, nominal) (aphetic for achet, variant of eschetescheat); cheten to escheat, derivative of chet (noun, nominal)
cheat′a•ble, adj. cheat′ing•ly, adv.
1. mislead, dupe, delude; gull, con; hoax, fool. Cheat,deceive,trick,victimize refer to the use of fraud or artifice deliberately to hoodwink or obtain an unfair advantage over someone. Cheat implies conducting matters fraudulently, esp. for profit to oneself:to cheat at cards.Deceive suggests deliberately misleading or deluding, to produce misunderstanding or to prevent someone from knowing the truth:to deceive one's parents.To trick is to deceive by a stratagem, often of a petty, crafty, or dishonorable kind:to trick someone into signing a note.To victimize is to make a victim of; the emotional connotation makes the cheating, deception, or trickery seem particularly dastardly:to victimize a blind man.8. swindler, trickster, sharper, dodger, charlatan, fraud, fake, phony, mountebank. 9. imposture, artifice, trick, hoax.