cheat (tʃiːt)

—vb (when intr, usually foll by on)
1.	to deceive or practise deceit, esp for one's own gain; trick or swindle (someone)
2.	(intr) to obtain unfair advantage by trickery, as in a game of cards
3.	(tr) to escape or avoid (something unpleasant) by luck or cunning: to cheat death
4.	informal to be sexually unfaithful to (one's wife, husband, or lover)

—n
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

[C14: short for escheat]

'cheatable

—*adj*

'cheater

—n

'cheatingly

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

cheater

early 14c., "royal officer in charge of the king's escheats;" meaning "dishonest player" is recorded from 1530s. See cheat.

Word Dynamo Rating For Cheater

People who can define Cheater may know 11,290 words.

How many words do you know?

Upgrade to Ad-free Premium Membership!

Related Words

Greek

windcheater

Matching Quote

"Love is too young to know what conscience is,
Yet who knows not conscience is born of love?
Then, gentle cheater, urge not my amiss,
Lest guilty of my faults, thy sweet self prove.
For, thou betraying me, I do betray
My nobler part to my gross body's treason;
My soul doth tell my body that he may
Triumph in love: flesh stays no farther reason,
But rising at thy name doth point out thee
As his triumphant prize. Proud of this pride,
He is contented thy poor drudge to be,
To stand in thy affairs, fall by thy side.
No want of conscience hold it that I call
Her "love" for whose dear love I rise and fall."

-Shakespeare

Partners:Word Bloglines Citysearch The Daily Beast Ask Answers Ask Kids Life123 Sendori Thesaurus

About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help

cheater

cheat·er