as in cheat
a dishonest person who uses clever means to cheat others out of something of value
people who lost money in the scheme discovered that the investment company was a fake and the "owner" just a bilk
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in to cheat
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
an investigation revealed that the garage had been bilking motorists for repairs that had never been made
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bilk
Yvonne Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 17 May 2018
Mercury News, Boston Herald, 12 Apr. 2025
In 2024, Robert Michael Rambo, 63, was indicted on a third-degree felony theft charge after allegedly bilking friends, neighbors and business associates out of tens of thousands of dollars.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bilk
Noun
And, despite its super hinky backstory, a bronze behemoth of bilk is taking shape in Everett.
—Yvonne Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 17 May 2018
Verb
Holmes, 41, was convicted on four counts of felony criminal fraud in early 2022 for bilking investors in her now-defunct Palo Alto, California, blood-testing startup Theranos out of hundreds of millions of dollars.
—Mercury News, Boston Herald, 12 Apr. 2025
In 2024, Robert Michael Rambo, 63, was indicted on a third-degree felony theft charge after allegedly bilking friends, neighbors and business associates out of tens of thousands of dollars.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bilk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bilk
Noun
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Hayakawa is a plaintive storyteller who refuses to indulge in emotional cheats of any kind, and would rather a scene be impenetrably oblique than overexplain its purpose.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
19 May 2025
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Her most notable reporting has been about taxes, including exposing billionaire tax cheats and writing cover stories on tax shelters (both corporate and individual), tax evasion, tax informants, tax administration, tax policy and legitimate tax planning.—
Emma Whitford,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
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In some towns, utility poles were removed so the caravans could squeeze through.—
Angela Jackson,
Forbes.com,
5 June 2025
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Hundreds of people squeezed into the Jewish Community Center in Boulder, Colo., for a vigil that featured prayer, singing and emotional testimony from a victim and witnesses of the firebombing attack in the city’s downtown, after a federal judge blocked the deportation of the suspect’s family.—
Colleen Slevin,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2025
Noun
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Try, try again Speaking of classes, the eight options here tend to fall into the usual archetypes for this kind of action-adventure game: the tank, the mage, the defensive specialist, the dextrous dodger, etc.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
28 May 2025
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The layoffs of roughly 7,000 Internal Revenue Service probationary workers beginning this week probably mean the end of the agency’s plan to go after high-wealth tax dodgers and could spell disaster for revenue collection, experts say.—
Fatima Hussein,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The defending champion Philadelphia Eagles have drawn the blueprint on perpetually pouring resources into the front seven on defense, consistently plucking players from SEC schools and throwing them onto an assembly line of quarterback mashers.—
Nick Kosmider,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
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Women dominate the lower tiers of tea labor, from plucking to packaging and remain vastly underrepresented in management, ownership, or policy influence.—
Dianne Plummer,
Forbes.com,
21 May 2025
Verb
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Police officers, firefighters and service members hustled to unload carloads of diapers, car seats, clothes, toys, books and toiletries that residents had dropped off.—
Tammy Murga,
Mercury News,
23 May 2025
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Neal Moritz was hustling the heck out of this from the jump.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
22 May 2025
Verb
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Its allure is rooted in seeing the celebrity guest melt beneath the weight of hot sauce: Shaq’s eyes stung red with tears, viscera gushed from O’Brien nose.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
27 May 2025
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Recent history suggests that Republicans would take few lessons from even a stinging rebuke in the midterms.—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
23 May 2025
Verb
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Federal prosecutors in Texas identified 80 victims defrauded of nearly $40 million by Charles Carrier since 2018.—
Anjeanette Damon,
ProPublica,
30 May 2025
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The pair was accused of running a scheme that, through fraudulent loans, defrauded the IRS and committed tax evasion.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
29 May 2025
Verb
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Even children who are online only in small doses likely see false or inaccurate information that might deceive them.—
Evan Orticio,
Scientific American,
2 June 2025
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In November, Dove pleaded guilty in Gaston County to a dozen felony charges related to illegally accessing police computer systems and helping someone deceive a polygraph test, The Gaston Gazette reported.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bilk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bilk. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.
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