cheat

present singular third person cheats · participle present cheating · participle past cheated · past cheated

1. intransitiveTo violate rules in order to gain, or attempt to gain, advantage from a situation.

   My brother flunked biology because he cheated on his mid-term.

2. intransitiveTo be unfaithful to one's spouse or partner; to commit adultery, or to engage in sexual or romantic conduct with a person other than one's partner in contravention of the rules of society or agreement in the relationship.

   My husband cheated on me with his secretary.

   2 more examples

   After he found out his wife cheated, he left her.

   While the nonavoidant passive-aggressive cheats for the sexual gratification and tries to disguise his or her cheating afterwards, in contrast, the passive-aggressive avoidant cheats less for the sex than to send a message[…]

   2003, Martin Kantor, Distancing: Avoidant Personality Disorder, page 137

   Synonyms: step out on

3. transitiveTo avoid a seemingly inevitable thing.

   I feel as if I've cheated fate.

   1 more example

   He cheated death when his car collided with a moving train.

4. transitiveTo deceive; to fool; to trick.

   He cheated his way into office.

   4 more examples

   My ex-wife cheated me out of $40,000.

   I am subject to a tyrant, a sorcerer, that by his cunning hath cheated me of this island.

   1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]

   [T]he holly providentially planted about the house, to cheat winter of its dreariness, and throw in a gleam of green summer to cheer the fireside:—all these bespeak the influence of taste, flowing down from high sources, and pervading the lowest levels of the public mind.

   1819 July 31, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Rural Life in England”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number II, New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, page 130

   The gig ended with Rotten uttering the now famous line, “Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?” On January 17, the Sex Pistols split up.

   2018, Peter Smith, quoting Johnny Rotten, Sex Pistols: The Pride of Punk, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page xxvi

   Synonyms: rook, blench, lirt, burn, beguile

5. informalintransitiveTo disregard self-imposed restrictions or commitments in favour of resting or indulging oneself.

plural cheats

1. countableAn act of deception or fraud; that which is the means of fraud or deception.

   When I consider life, 'tis all a cheat.

   1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe: A Tragedy. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1676, →OCLC, (please specify the page number)

   Synonyms: fraud, trick, imposition, imposture

2. countableSomeone who cheats.

   2 more examples

   And he smote Corinius on his shaven jowl with the dice box, calling him cheat and mangy rascal, whereupon Corinius drew forth a bodkin to smite him in the neck withal; but some went betwixt them, and with much ado and much struggling and cursing they were parted, and it being shown that the dice were not loaded, the son of Corund was fain to make amends to Corinius, and so were they set at one again.

   1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 33

   The caseworker couldn't understand how I could have stretched out my last bit of money for so long. She seemed convinced that I was "hiding" income from her and interrogated me for I don't know how long […] The system seems based on the assumption that people are "welfare cheats. If you don't speak English or are marginal in some other way, it's worse. I wish they'd put the Defense Department through what we go through.

   1990 February 4, Margy Dowzer, Mary Frances Platt, Aviva Shmuckler, “Disability And Accessibility Cost Money!”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 29, page 13

   Synonyms: cheater, bandit

3. uncountableThe weed cheatgrass.
4. uncountablecard gamesSynonym of bullshit (“a card game where the goal is to have no cards remaining in a hand, often by telling lies”).

   Synonyms: bullshit

5. countablevideo gamesA hidden means of gaining an unfair advantage in a video game, often by entering a cheat code.

   Unpause the game, then repause the game and enter any of the following cheats: […]

   1998, GamePro Issue 109 August 1998, page 141

   1 more example

   I've had a number of requests for a cheat for Turrican the first. Yes, there is a keypress built in […]

   1992 January, Phil Howard, “Cheat Mode”, in Amstrad Action, number 76, page 32

1. obsoleteuncountableA sort of low-quality bread.

   Takes part with them, at ſhore: their pureſt cheat, / Thrice boulted, kneaded, and ſubdu'd in paſt[…]

   c. 1624, Homer, translated by George Chapman, The crowne of all Homers workes Batrachomyomachia […] , Iohn Bill, page 3

   2 more examples

   The raueled cheat therfore is generallie ſo made that out of one buſhell of meale, after two and twentie pounds of bran be ſifted and taken from it (wherevnto they ad the gurgeons that riſe from the manchet) they make thirtie cast, euerie lofe weighing eightéene ounces into the ouen and ſixteene ounces out[…]

   1587, Raphaell Holinshed, Iohn Hooker, “Of the food and diet of the Engliſh”, in The firſt and ſecond volumes of Chronicles […] , volume I, London: Henry Denham, page 169

   Where by the way note, that loaves made of pure Wheaten Meal require both more Leaven and more labouring, and more baking than either coarſe Cheat or than Bread Mingled of Meal and Grudgins.

   1746, Thomas Moffett, Christopher Bennet, Health's Improvement […] , London: T. Oſborne, page 339