con

noun

/kɒn/

/kɑːn/

(informal)Idioms

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[singular] a trick; an act of cheating somebody
- The so-called bargain was just a big con!
- (British English) a con trick
- (North American English) a con game
- He's a real con artist (= a person who regularly cheats others).
compare confidence trick see also conman, mod con
Extra Examples
- The scheme was all a big con.
- It was all one big con trick.
Topics Crime and punishmentc2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- big
con + noun
- game
- trick
- artist
- …
See full entry
[countable] a convict (= a person who has been found guilty of a crime and sent to prison)
- Look, I'm an officer, and cons don't speak to me like that, okay?

Word Originnoun sense 1 late 19th cent. (originally US): abbreviation of confidence, as in confidence trick. noun sense 2 late 19th cent.: abbreviation.

Idioms

the pros and cons

the advantages and disadvantages of something
- We weighed up the pros and cons.

con

verb

/kɒn/

/kɑːn/

(informal)

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they con	/kɒn/ /kɑːn/
he / she / it cons	/kɒnz/ /kɑːnz/
past simple conned	/kɒnd/ /kɑːnd/
past participle conned	/kɒnd/ /kɑːnd/
-ing form conning	/ˈkɒnɪŋ/ /ˈkɑːnɪŋ/

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to trick somebody, especially in order to get money from them or persuade them to do something for you
- con somebody (into doing something) I was conned into buying a useless car.
- con somebody (out of something) They had been conned out of £100 000.
- con your way into something He conned his way into the job using false references.
Synonyms cheat
cheat
- fool
- deceive
- betray
- take in
- trick
- con
These words all mean to make somebody believe something that is not true, especially in order to get what you want.
- cheat to make somebody believe something that is not true, in order to get money or something else from them:
  She is accused of attempting to cheat the taxman.
  He cheated his way into the job.
  Cheat also means to act in a dishonest way in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game, competition or exam: You’re not allowed to look at the answers— that’s cheating.
- fool to make somebody believe something that is not true, especially in order to laugh at them or to get what you want:
  Just don’t be fooled into investing any money with them.
- deceive to make somebody believe something that is not true, especially somebody who trusts you, in order to get what you want:
  She deceived him into handing over all his savings.
- betray to hurt somebody who trusts you, especially by lying to or about them or telling their secrets to other people:
  She felt betrayed when she found out the truth about him.
- take somebody in [often passive] to make somebody believe something that is not true, usually in order to get what you want:
  I was taken in by her story.
- trick to make somebody believe something that is not true, especially in a clever way, in order to get what you want.
- con (informal) to make somebody believe something that is not true, especially in order to get money from them or get them to do something for you:
  They had been conned out of £100 000.
which word?
- Many of these words involve making somebody believe something that is not true, but some of them are more disapproving than others. Deceive is probably the worst because people typically deceive friends, relations and others who know and trust them. People may feel cheated/betrayed by somebody in authority who they trusted to look after their interests. If somebody takes you in, they may do it by acting a part and using words and charm effectively. If somebody cheats/fools/tricks/cons you, they may get something from you and make you feel stupid. However, somebody might fool you just as a joke; and to trick somebody is sometimes seen as a clever thing to do, if the person being tricked is seen as a bad person who deserves it.
Patterns
- to cheat/fool/trick/con somebody out of something
- to cheat/fool/deceive/betray/trick/con somebody into doing something
- to feel cheated/fooled/deceived/betrayed/tricked/conned
- to fool/deceive yourself
- to cheat/trick/con your way into something
Topics Crime and punishmentc2
Word Originverb late 19th cent. (originally US): abbreviation of confidence, as in confidence trick.