Cheat

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /t͡ʃiːt/

Definitions

1. To act dishonestly or unfairly to gain an advantage ; a person who gains advantage through deceit or fraud
2. To break rules or lie in order to get something unfairly ; someone who deceives others for personal gain
3. To use trickery or dishonesty to succeed unjustly ; an individual known for dishonest behavior or fraudulence

Etymology: Medieval English law gave us the word's noun sense before its verb sense. An "escheat" was property that reverted to the lord or the Crown when an owner died without heirs, and the Middle English noun "chete" was a clipped form of that legal term. The Old French root "escheoir" meant "to fall to someone," and it traces back to Late Latin "excadere," "fall away, fall out," built from Latin "ex-" and "cadere" ("fall"). So the core idea is something falling into someone's hands. The verb took a different route. Middle English "achetan" meant to take property by escheat, and the word gradually drifted from this legal sense toward the broader idea of getting something by unfair means. Its meaning narrowed into the modern sense of gaining an advantage through deceit or fraud. The word also has a native rival. It displaced the Old English verb "beswīcan," which meant to deceive. The noun "cheat," meaning a fraud or a swindler, developed from the same verb in English use.

Synonyms: deceive, swindle, trick, defraud, con

Antonyms: honor, be honest, treat fairly