rort

R1O1R1T1
/ɹɔː(ɹ)t/

noun

A scam or fraud, especially involving the misappropriation of public money or resources.

Scrabble 4

Meanings

nounrort (plural rorts)

plural rorts

  1. AustraliaNew ZealandA scam or fraud, especially involving the misappropriation of public money or resources.

    2008, Australian House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), page 4067, Not all of the projects were bad or rorts; the majority were no doubt valuable to their communities.

    2 more examples

    It′s one of the great rorts in Australia that for overstaying your welcome (even by five minutes) in a space that may cost only a few dollars to park in, local councils are prepared to fine you anywhere from $50 to $120.

    2009, Justine Vaisutis, Australia, Lonely Planet, page 81

    The rort was that South Australia and Western Australia, who controlled their grounds, were allowed to double-dip. In Perth, for instance, the WACA sold season tickets, which they marketed in the form of memberships, to everything at the ground, including football. They had a huge membership and were rolling in money, but because they′d sold their tickets in memberships, they declared a loss on the cricket Test match. At the end of the season, though, they′d get the same twofourteenths^([sic]) of Pool Two as Queensland.

    2011, Malcolm Knox, Greg Chappell, Fierce Focus, unnumbered page
verbrort (third-person singular simple present rorts, present participle rorting, simple past and past participle rorted)

present singular third person rorts · participle present rorting · participle past rorted · past rorted

  1. AustraliaNew ZealandtransitiveTo cheat or defraud.

    York is then alleged to have rorted the doctor out of his share.

    2011, James Morton, Susanna Lobez, Kings of Stings: The Greatest Swindles From Down Under, page 118
    2 more examples

    He wants to change the system for the benefit of all and wants to stop the incredible rorting that has occurred within the prisons system.

    1992, Victorian Legislative Assembly, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), page 496

    SINGLE pensioners living together will come under scrutiny from Centrelink looking for same-sex couples rorting welfare.

    2009 January 30, Ben Packham, “Same-sex couples accused of cheating system”, in Herald Sun, archived from the original on 02 Feb 2009

Origin

Probably a back-formation from rorty (“boisterous or rowdy, saucy, dissipated, or risqué”). Originally slang but now in common usage.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with rort

All rhymes →

Sounds the same

wrought (non-rhotic)wrought (non-rhotic)

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

rort. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rort

MLA

“rort.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rort. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rort,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rort.

Source: rort on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.