Nigerian prince

/naɪˌdʒɪəɹɪən ˈpɹɪns//naɪˌdʒɪɹiən ˈpɹɪns/

noun

A cheat who seeks to obtain money through advance fee scams.

“I fell for a Nigerian prince scam”

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Meanings

Nigerian prince1

nounNigerian prince (plural Nigerian princes)

plural Nigerian princes

  1. A cheat who seeks to obtain money through advance fee scams.

    I fell for a Nigerian prince scam

    1 more example

    Today, in an increasingly interconnected world, a person is more likely to be robbed by a “Nigerian prince” on the Internet than a masked street thug.

    2012, Peter M. Haas, John A. Hird, Controversies in Globalization: Contending Approaches to International Relations, CQ Press, page 219
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see Nigerian, prince.

Nigerian Prince2

nounNigerian Prince (plural Nigerian Princes)

plural Nigerian Princes

  1. Alternative letter-case form of Nigerian prince.

Origin

Derived from the early instances of advance fee scams in which the perpetrator of the scam would send potential victims an email claiming to be a Nigerian prince seeking to transfer a large amount of money into their country.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Nigerian prince. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Nigerian%20prince

MLA

“Nigerian prince.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Nigerian%20prince. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Nigerian prince,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Nigerian%20prince.

Source: Nigerian prince on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.