Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense cheats, present participle cheating, past tense, past participle cheated
1. verb
When someone cheats, they do not obey a set of rules which they should be obeying, for example in a game or exam.
Students may be tempted to cheat in order to get into top schools. [VERB]
cheatinguncountable noun
In an election in 1988, he was accused of cheating by his opponent.
2. countable noun
Someone who is a cheat does not obey a set of rules which they should be obeying.
Cheats will be disqualified.
3. verb
If someone cheats you out of something, they get it from you by behaving dishonestly.
The company engaged in a deliberate effort to cheat them out of their pensions. [V n + out of/of]
Many brokers were charged with cheating customers in commodity trades. [VERB noun]
4.
See cheat death
5.
See feel cheated
Phrasal verbs:
See cheat on
More Synonyms of cheat
cheat in British English
(tʃiːt)
verb
1.
to deceive or practise deceit, esp for one's own gain; trick or swindle (someone)
2. (intransitive)
to obtain unfair advantage by trickery, as in a game of cards
3. (transitive)
to escape or avoid (something unpleasant) by luck or cunning
to cheat death
4. (whenintr, usually foll by on) informal
to be sexually unfaithful to (one's wife, husband, or lover)
noun
5.
a person who cheats
6.
a deliberately dishonest transaction, esp for gain; fraud
7. informal
sham
8. law
the obtaining of another's property by fraudulent means
9. the usual US name for rye-brome
Derived forms
cheatable (ˈcheatable)
adjective
cheater (ˈcheater)
noun
cheatingly (ˈcheatingly)
adverb
Word origin
C14: short for escheat
cheat in American English
(tʃit)
noun
1.
the act of deceiving or swindling; deception; fraud
2.
a person who defrauds, deceives, or tricks others; swindler
3.
chess2
verb transitive
4.
to deal with dishonestly for one's own gain; defraud; swindle
5.
to deceive by trickery; fool; mislead
6.
to foil or escape by tricks or by good luck
to cheat death
7.
to deprive of or destroy the effect of through error or ignorance
using the wrong word cheated him of his legacy
verb intransitive
8.
to practice fraud or deception
9.
to behave dishonestly, as at games or on an examination
10. US, Informal
to be sexually unfaithful
often with on
SYNONYMY NOTE: cheat, the most general term in this comparison, implies dealing dishonestly or deceptivelywith someone, to obtain some advantage or gain; , defraud, chiefly a legal term, stresses the use of deliberate deception in criminally deprivinga person of rights or property; , swindle stresses the winning of a person's confidence in order to cheat or defraud that personof money, etc.; , trick implies a deluding by means of a ruse, stratagem, etc., but does not always suggestfraudulence or a harmful motive; , dupe1 stresses credulity in the person who is tricked or fooled; , hoax implies a trick skillfully carried off simply to demonstrate the gullibility of thevictim
Derived forms
cheater (ˈcheater)
noun
cheatingly (ˈcheatingly)
adverb
Word origin
ME chete < eschete: see escheat
Examples of 'cheat' in a sentence
cheat
Any test centres which have been found to cheat the system should be closed down.
The Sun (2016)
She says the cheating and lies have killed her love for me.
The Sun (2016)
The rest of us have less cash and get called cheats.
The Sun (2017)
I'm wondering though, what made you cheat if you love him so much?
The Sun (2016)
Cheating is cheating and he has to choose who he wants to be with.
The Sun (2012)
You returned my love with cheating and lies.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
What kind of mind tries to cheat the system?
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
They will enjoy the sight of a cheat getting his comeuppance.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Tax cheats and benefits cheats both cost taxpayers dear.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Today we also report that the number of benefit cheats being jailed has halved.
The Sun (2012)
But when should drug cheats be allowed back into the sport they devalued?
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
No one wants cheats in the sport.
The Sun (2009)
She lies all the time and cheats at simple games.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
We lose more money this way than we do through people cheating on their welfare benefits.
The Sun (2012)
Undercover surveillance crews are called in by partners who suspect their loved one cheats on them.
The Sun (2012)
Tougher sanctions will be introduced to hammer those who cheat the system.
The Sun (2011)
She keeps accusing me of cheating when she gets this way.
The Sun (2012)
Employers anyway should not buy into schemes to cheat on tax.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
She had been accused of acting no better than a benefits cheat.
The Sun (2014)
One of the problems in using the law for drugs and other cheats is the threshold of proof.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
He does not cheat or lie.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
You've put up with cheating and lies for decades.
The Sun (2011)
Cheating is cheating, whether with a man or a woman.
The Sun (2015)
In the pro game that's cheating.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
DO you think men or women are more easily deceived by a cheating partner?
The Sun (2012)
But the two-time world champ insists there are no mental scars and he is still racing without fear despite cheating death.
The Sun (2016)
He was shot near Sangin - after previously cheating death while playing chess.
The Sun (2010)
Quotations
Cheats never prosper
In other languages
cheat
British English: cheat /tʃiːt/ NOUN
Someone who is a cheat does not obey a set of rules which they should be obeying.
Cheats will be disqualified.
American English: cheat
Arabic: غَشَّاش
Brazilian Portuguese: impostor
Chinese: 欺骗
Croatian: varalica
Czech: podvodník
Danish: snyd
Dutch: bedrieger
European Spanish: tramposo juego
Finnish: huijari
French: tricheur
German: Betrüger
Greek: απάτη
Italian: truffatore
Japanese: 詐欺師
Korean: 속임수
Norwegian: bedrager
Polish: oszust
European Portuguese: aldrabão
Romanian: trișor
Russian: мошенничество
Latin American Spanish: tramposo
Swedish: skojare
Thai: การคดโกง
Turkish: dolandırıcı
Ukrainian: шахрай
Vietnamese: kẻ lừa đảo
British English: cheat /tʃiːt/ VERB
When someone cheats, they do not obey a set of rules which they should be obeying, for example in a game or exam.
Students may be tempted to cheat in order to get into top schools.
American English: cheat
Arabic: يَغُشُ
Brazilian Portuguese: trapacear
Chinese: 欺骗
Croatian: varati
Czech: podvést
Danish: snyde
Dutch: valsspelen
European Spanish: hacer trampa
Finnish: pettää
French: tricher
German: betrügen
Greek: εξαπατώ
Italian: truffare
Japanese: だます
Korean: 속이다
Norwegian: jukse
Polish: oszukać
European Portuguese: trapacear
Romanian: a trișa
Russian: жульничать
Latin American Spanish: hacer trampa
Swedish: lura
Thai: ทุจริต
Turkish: dolandırmak
Ukrainian: шахраювати
Vietnamese: lừa đảo
Chinese translation of 'cheat'
cheat
(tʃiːt)
vi
(in game, exam) 作弊 (zuòbì)
vt
欺骗(騙) (qīpiàn)
n(c)
(in games, exams) 作弊者 (zuòbìzhě) (个(個), gè)
(in business) 骗(騙)子 (piànzi)
(sexually) 不忠的人 (bùzhōng de rén) (个(個), gè)
to feel cheated感到受骗(騙)上当(當) (gǎndào shòupiàn shàngdàng)
to cheat sb out of sth骗(騙)取某人的某物 (piànqǔ mǒurén de mǒuwù)
1 (verb)
Definition
to defraud
He cheated people out of their life savings.
Synonyms
deceive
He has deceived and disillusioned us all.
skin (slang)
trick
He'll be upset when he finds out how you tricked him.
fool
Art dealers fool a lot of people.
take in (informal)
con (informal)
He claimed that the businessman had conned him out of his life savings.
stiff (slang)
sting (informal)
mislead
Ministers knowingly misled the public.
rip off (slang)
fleece
She claims he fleeced her out of thousands of pounds.
hoax
He recently hoaxed a number of celebrities.
defraud
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government.
dupe
Some of the offenders duped the psychologists.
beguile
He used his newspapers to beguile his readers.
gull (archaic)
Consumers are no longer so easily gulled into paying extra for a designer label.
do (informal)
I'll tell you how they did me.
swindle
He swindled investors out of millions of pounds.
stitch up (slang)
victimize
bamboozle (informal)
He was bamboozled by conmen.
hoodwink
Many people are hoodwinked by the so-called beauty industry.
double-cross (informal)
They were frightened of being double-crossed.
diddle (informal)
take for a ride (informal)
bilk
trusts that secretly conspired to bilk the public
pull a fast one on (informal)
screw (informal)
We've been screwed.
finagle (informal)
cozen
scam (slang)
2 (verb)
He cheated death when he was rescued from the blazing cottage.
Synonyms
foil
A brave police chief foiled an armed robbery.
check
Today's meeting must focus on checking the spread of violence.
defeat
The challenges of constructing such a huge novel almost defeated her.
prevent
We took steps to prevent it happening.
These methods prevent pregnancy.
frustrate
The government has deliberately frustrated his efforts.
deprive
baffle
thwart
They were doing all they could to thwart the opposition.
1 (noun)
Definition
a person who cheats
He's nothing but a rotten cheat.
Synonyms
deceiver
He was condemned as a liar, cheat and deceiver.
sharper
cheater
shark
charlatan
This so-called psychic was exposed as a charlatan.
trickster
The veteran trickster had made a fortune in his 40 years of fraud.
conman or woman (informal)
con artist (informal)
impostor
He was an impostor who masqueraded as a doctor.
fraudster
double-crosser (informal)
swindler
Swindlers have cheated investors out of £12 million.
grifter (slang, mainly US, Canadian)
rorter (Australian, slang)
chiseller (informal)
rogue
He wasn't a rogue at all.
dodger
knave (archaic)
It is difficult to believe that he is such a knave behind my back.
rogue trader
2 (noun)
Definition
a fraud or deception
Synonyms
deception
You've been the victim of a rather cruel deception.
fraud
a fraud involving pension and social security claims
sting (informal)
a sting set by the FBI
rip-off (slang)
Christmas shopping is a rip-off.
scam (slang)
deceit
The suspect was found guilty of theft, fraud and deceit on an incredible scale.
swindle
He fled to Switzerland rather than face trial for a tax swindle.
artifice
the artifice and illusion of sleight-of-hand card tricks
trickery
They will resort to trickery in order to impress their clients.
imposture (formal)
proverb
Cheats never prosper
Additional synonyms
in the sense of artifice
Definition
a clever trick
the artifice and illusion of sleight-of-hand card tricks
Synonyms
cunning,
scheming,
trick,
device,
craft,
tactic,
manoeuvre,
deception,
hoax,
expedient,
ruse,
guile,
trickery,
duplicity,
subterfuge,
stratagem,
contrivance,
chicanery,
wile,
craftiness,
artfulness,
slyness,
machination,
dodge
in the sense of bamboozle
Definition
to cheat
He was bamboozled by conmen.
Synonyms
cheat,
do (informal),
kid (informal),
skin (slang),
trick,
fool,
take in (informal),
con (informal),
stiff,
sting (informal),
mislead,
rip off (slang),
thwart,
deceive,
fleece,
hoax,
defraud,
dupe,
beguile,
gull (archaic),
delude,
swindle,
stitch up (slang),
victimize,
hoodwink,
double-cross (informal),
diddle (informal),
take for a ride (informal),
do the dirty on (British, informal),
bilk,
pull a fast one on (informal),
cozen
in the sense of beguile
Definition
to charm (someone) into doing something he or she would not normally do