Meanings
swindle1
present singular third person swindles · participle present swindling · participle past swindled · past swindled
- transitiveTo defraud.
The two men swindled the company out of $160,000.
3 more examples
Such Nations cannot have a King to command them; can only have this or the other scandalous swindling Copper Captain, constitutional Gilt Mountebank, or other the like unsalutary entity by way of King; and the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children in a frightful and tragical manner, little noticed in the Penny Newspapers and Periodical Literatures of this generation.
1865, Thomas Carlyle, History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. XXI. (of XXI.)That word is bezzle. It describes the period in which an embezzler has stolen a man's money but the victim does not yet realize he's been swindled.
2015 December 3, Tracy Alloway, “There's Been a Bezzle-Fueled Boom in Bonds”, in Markets, Bloomberg News, retrieved 16 Aug 2021Muldavin faced larceny charges after swindling his third wife’s family out of $10,000 around the time his second wife disappeared.
2026 September 3, Shreya Lele, “The “Lady of the Dunes” Was Found Murdered in 1974. Nearly 50 Years Later, She Got Her Name Back”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 03 Sep 2026 - ambitransitiveTo obtain (money or property) by fraudulent or deceitful methods.
She swindled more than £200 out of me.
- board gamesFor a player in a losing position to play a clever move that provokes an error from the opponent, thus achieving a win or a draw.
Synonyms: be sold a pup
plural swindles
- An instance of swindling.
There were men there who had committed merciless robberies, cruel murders, heartless swindles, abominable depravities.
1914, Julian Hawthorne, chapter 16, in The Subterranean Brotherhood1 more example
[T]he scandal was the pretty common one of a corrupt agreement between hotel proprietors and a salesman who took and gave secret commissions, so that his business had a monopoly of all the drink sold in the place. It wasn't even an open slavery like an ordinary tied house; it was a swindle at the expense of everybody the manager was supposed to serve.
1935, G. K. Chesterton, The Scandal of Father Brown - Anything that is deceptively not what it appears to be.
Swindle2
Synonyms & antonyms
verbFor a player in a losing position to play a clever move that provokes an error from the opponent, thus achieving a win or a draw.
More synonyms by meaning
verbdeprive of by deceit
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
swindle · verb, noun
- Proto-West Germanic*swindan“to diminish”
- Old High Germanswintilōn
- Middle High Germanswindeln
- Germanschwindeln
- GermanSchwindler
- Englishswindle
Back-formation from swindler, from German Schwindler, from German schwindeln, from Middle High German swindeln, swindelen, from Old High German swintilōn, frequentative of the verb swintan, from Proto-West Germanic *swindan (“to diminish”). See also Modern German schwindeln, Danish svindel and svindle, Dutch zwindelen and zwendelen, Yiddish שווינדל (shvindl), Low German swinneln, Middle English swinden (“to languish, waste away”).
More words from German, Middle High German, Old High German
Full word history & related roots →Swindle · proper noun
* As an English surname, variant of Swindell. * As a German surname, Americanized from Schwindell, a diminutive of the lost Middle High German adjective swinde (“impetuous, wild”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans afsettery
- afsetteryto defraud someone
Ancient Greek φενακίζω
- φενακίζω (phenakízō)to defraud someone
Arabic غَشَّ, جَدَعَ
- غَشَّ (ḡašša)to defraud someone
- جَدَعَ (jadaʕa)to defraud someone
- غَشَّ (ḡašša)to obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- جَدَعَ (jadaʕa)to obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
Bulgarian измамвам, измама
- измамвам (izmamvam)to defraud someone
- измама (izmama)an instance of swindling
Catalan estafar, enganyar
- estafarto defraud someone
- enganyarto defraud someone
- ensarronarto defraud someone
- engaliparto defraud someone
- estafarto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- estafaan instance of swindling
Chinese Cantonese 欺騙 /欺骗
- 欺騙 /欺骗 (hei⁴ pin³)to obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
Chinese Mandarin 詐取 /诈取, 騙取 /骗取
- 詐取 /诈取 (zhàqǔ)to defraud someone
- 騙取 /骗取 (piànqǔ)to defraud someone
- 騙局 /骗局 (piànjú)to defraud someone
- 欺騙 /欺骗 (qīpiàn)to obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- 欺詐 /欺诈 (qīzhà)an instance of swindling
Czech švindl
- švindlan instance of swindling
Dutch oplichten, zwendelen
- oplichtento defraud someone
- zwendelento defraud someone
- frauderento obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- zwendelan instance of swindling
Esperanto trompi, trompo
- trompito defraud someone
- trompoan instance of swindling
Finnish huijata, huijata
- huijatato defraud someone
- huijatato obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- huijausan instance of swindling
French escroquer, entourlouper
- escroquerto defraud someone
- entourlouperto defraud someone
- entourlouperto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- escroquerto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- escroqueriean instance of swindling
- entourloupean instance of swindling
German betrügen, beschwindeln
- betrügento defraud someone
- beschwindelnto defraud someone
- erschwindelnto defraud someone
- schwindelnto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- Schwindelan instance of swindling
Greek απάτη
- απάτη (apáti)an instance of swindling
Hebrew הוֹנָה
- הוֹנָה (honá)to defraud someone
Hungarian becsap, átver
- becsapto defraud someone
- átverto defraud someone
- rászedto defraud someone
- kicsalto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- csalásan instance of swindling
- becsapásan instance of swindling
- szélhámosságan instance of swindling
- átverésan instance of swindling
- svindlian instance of swindling
Icelandic svindla á, svindla
- svindla áto defraud someone
- svindlato obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- svindlan instance of swindling
- svikan instance of swindling
Indonesian menipu, mengecoh
- meniputo defraud someone
- mengecohto defraud someone
- meniputo obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
Italian truffare, bidonare
- truffareto defraud someone
- bidonareto defraud someone
- defraudareto defraud someone
- turlupinareto defraud someone
- circuireto defraud someone
- fregareto defraud someone
- raggirareto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- truffareto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- frodean instance of swindling
- raggiroan instance of swindling
- imbroglioan instance of swindling
Japanese 騙す, 欺く
- 騙す (damasu)to defraud someone
- 欺く (azamuku)to defraud someone
- 騙る (kataru)to obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- 騙取する (henshu suru)to obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- 詐欺 (sagi)an instance of swindling
Latin fraudō
- fraudōto defraud someone
Malay tipu, tipu
- tiputo defraud someone
- tiputo obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- penipuanan instance of swindling
Māori whakateke, muremure
- whakateketo defraud someone
- muremureto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- hara tawarean instance of swindling
Polish szwindlować, szwindel
- szwindlowaćto defraud someone
- szwindelan instance of swindling
Portuguese fraudar, trapacear
- fraudarto defraud someone
- trapacearto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- fraudean instance of swindling
Romanian înșela
- înșelato defraud someone
Russian обма́нывать, обману́ть
- обма́нывать (obmányvatʹ)to defraud someone
- обману́ть (obmanútʹ)to defraud someone
- моше́нничать (mošénničatʹ)to defraud someone
- жу́льничать (žúlʹničatʹ)to defraud someone
- надува́ть (naduvátʹ)to defraud someone
- наду́ть (nadútʹ)to defraud someone
- обма́нывать (obmányvatʹ)to obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- обману́ть (obmanútʹ)to obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- обма́н (obmán)an instance of swindling
- жу́льничество (žúlʹničestvo)an instance of swindling
- моше́нничество (mošénničestvo)an instance of swindling
Spanish estafar, timar
- estafarto defraud someone
- timarto defraud someone
- tangarto defraud someone
- petardearto defraud someone
- dársela con quesoto defraud someone
- estafarto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- petardearto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- trampearto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- timarto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- timoan instance of swindling
- estafaan instance of swindling
- pufoan instance of swindling
- engañabobosan instance of swindling
- engañifaan instance of swindling
- socaliñaan instance of swindling
- trafaan instance of swindling
Swedish svindla, bedra
- svindlato defraud someone
- bedrato defraud someone
- svindlato obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- svindelan instance of swindling
- bedrägerian instance of swindling
Thai โกง, คดโกง
- โกง (gohng)to defraud someone
- คดโกง (kót gohng)to defraud someone
- โกง (gohng)to obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- คดโกง (kót gohng)to obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
Turkish dolandırmak, söğüşlemek
- dolandırmakto defraud someone
- söğüşlemekto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- dolandırmakto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- yolmakto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
Vietnamese lừa đảo, lừa đảo
- lừa đảoto defraud someone
- lừa đảoto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
- lừa tiềnto obtain money or property by fraudulent or deceitful methods
Yiddish באַשווינדלען, אָפּנאַרן
- באַשווינדלען (bashvindlen)to defraud someone
- אָפּנאַרן (opnarn)to defraud someone
- שווינדל (shvindl)an instance of swindling
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with swindle
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
swindle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swindle
“swindle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swindle. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “swindle,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swindle.
Source: swindle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.