verb
bilk
BILK/bɪlk/
To cheat someone out of money or property.
The shell-game operator bilks the customer while secretly holding the missing ball.
Etymology
Originally a cribbage term for spoiling someone's score, bilk later meant defrauding someone. Its origin is obscure; a suggested connection with balk, meaning “to hinder,” remains uncertain.
In context
bilk investors out of millions of dollars sometimes even billions
More examples
- He was accused of bilking customers with false repair charges.
- The scheme bilked hundreds of families.
- She refuses to help anyone bilk the charity.
Forms
bilk · bilks · bilked · bilking
Similar words
- defraud
- Emphasizes obtaining something through deliberate deception.
- swindle
- Suggests a dishonest scheme used to take money.