I. swin ‧ dle 1 /ˈswɪndl/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1700-1800 ; Origin: swindler 'person who swindles' (18-21 centuries) , from German schwindler 'someone confused or unbalanced' ]
to get money from someone by deceiving them SYN cheat
swindle somebody out of something
a businessman who swindled investors out of millions of pounds
—swindler noun [countable]
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THESAURUS
■ to get money or possessions dishonestly from someone
▪ cheat to deceive someone so that they do not get or keep something they have a right to:
He used his charm to cheat the old lady out of everything he could get.
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He’s afraid they’ll cheat him after he hands over the money.
▪ con informal to get money from someone by telling them lies:
They conned her into spending thousands of pounds on useless equipment.
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He conned money out of the public by pretending to collect for charity.
▪ swindle to get money from a person or organization by cheating them in a clever way:
The painting has been stolen and the art gallery has been swindled out of a large sum of money.
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A City businessman who swindled investors out of millions of pounds was jailed for four years.
▪ defraud to commit the crime of getting money from an organization by deceiving them:
He admitted attempting to defraud his former employer of $1 million.
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Johnson is accused of conspiring to defraud the taxman of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
▪ do somebody out of something informal especially British English to dishonestly stop someone from getting or keeping something, especially something they have a right to have:
They’ve done me out of three weeks wages!
II. swindle 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
a situation in which someone gets money by deceiving someone else:
a big tax swindle