1916, "one who acts as a decoy for a gambler, auctioneer, etc." (probably originally circus or carnival argot), probably a shortened form of shillaber (1913) with the same meaning, origin unknown. The verb is attested from 1914.
n. someone planted in the crowd to urge others to buy something, participate in something, etc. : The guy's a shill! Don't fall for this setup!
in. to advertise for something; to give a sales pitch for something. : Four stars of an old television show were there shilling for a major computer firm.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
Only a true pharma-shill would pretend that vaccines work.
Dude, it is really bad form to shill your blog on a discussion board.
Give writers more incentive and leeway to shill for the commercial sugar daddies without sacrificing narrative.
The epithet is nothing more than an unsubtle shill for taxpayers and fans to build a new stadium.
Yu is a brave voice for change or simply a well-placed shill.
So it's not clear that the group is really acting as a shill for the wealthy as some suggest.
Now stating that same opinion will get one branded as a kook or a shill for the tobacco industry.
Everyone knows the system can be gamed using shill accounts, friends, etc.
But even if a site doesn't use shill bids, there's a good chance you'll lose money.
Once he's out he'll still have all his books and a radio show on which to shill them.