I. cheat 1 S3 /tʃiːt/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: cheat 'legal removal of someone's property' (14-17 centuries) , from escheat ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to behave in a dishonest way in order to win or to get an advantage, especially in a competition, game, or examination:
He had cheated in the test by using a calculator.
Don’t look at my cards – that’s cheating.
cheat at
She claimed that I cheated at chess.
2 . [transitive] to trick or deceive someone so that they do not get or keep something they have a right to have:
Illegal workers are often cheated by employers.
cheat somebody (out) of something
She cheated her aged aunt out of her fortune.
3 . feel cheated to feel that you have been treated wrongly or unfairly and have not got what you deserve:
She felt cheated and used.
4 . cheat death/fate etc to manage to avoid death or a very bad situation even though it seemed that you would not be able to:
The Italian ace cheated death in a spectacular 100 mph crash.
5 . be cheated of victory/success etc if you are cheated of victory, success etc, you do not achieve it because of something unfortunate that happens
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THESAURUS (for Meaning 2)
■ 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!
cheat on somebody phrasal verb
to be unfaithful to your husband, wife, or sexual partner by secretly having sex with someone else:
The magazine claims that almost half of Britain’s women cheat on their partners.
II. cheat 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . someone who is dishonest and cheats:
His addiction has turned him into a cheat and a liar.
2 . a cheat something that is dishonest or unfair
3 . a set of instructions given to a computer that make it easier for someone who is playing a computer game to win