bilk

[ bilk ]

See synonyms for bilk on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to defraud; cheat: He bilked the government of almost a million dollars.
to evade payment of (a debt).

to frustrate: a career bilked by poor health.
to escape from; elude: to bilk one's pursuers.

noun

a cheat; swindler.
a trick; fraud; deceit.

Origin of bilk

First recorded in 1625–35; of obscure origin

Other words for bilk

1	swindle, trick, dupe, fleece, rook

See synonyms for bilk on Thesaurus.com

Other words from bilk

bilker, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bilk in a sentence

Then Bilker, accompanied by Schwartzkoff and Burrowes, were to go on board the schooner and settle the mate and the white steward.
The Tapu Of Banderah | Louis Becke
No doubt he and that anointed sweep Bilker are having a very happy time together.
The Tapu Of Banderah | Louis Becke
Cabby was evidently quite convinced that his eccentric fare was not a bilker.
The Stowmarket Mystery | Louis Tracy
This fellow Bilker was a disgrace to every white man in the trade.
The Tapu Of Banderah | Louis Becke
For a moment or two Bilker, crime-hardened villain as he was, hesitated.
The Tapu Of Banderah | Louis Becke

British Dictionary definitions for bilk

bilk

/ (bɪlk) /

verb(tr)

to balk; thwart
(often foll by of) to cheat or deceive, esp to avoid making payment to

to escape from; elude
cribbage to play a card that hinders (one's opponent) from scoring in his or her crib

noun

a swindle or cheat
a person who swindles or cheats

Origin of bilk

C17: perhaps variant of balk

Derived forms of bilk

bilker, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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