/ bɪlk; NAmE / verb
[ vn ] ( informal , especially NAmE ) bilk sb (out of sth) | bilk sth (from sb) to cheat sb, especially by taking money from them :
a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 17th cent. (originally used in cribbage meaning spoil one's opponent's score ): perhaps a variant of baulk .