- (transitive)
to take away or withhold money, rights, property, etc, from (a person) by fraud; cheat; swindle
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
de•fraud /dɪˈfrɔd/USA pronunciation
v. [ ~ + obj + of + obj]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- to deprive of a right, money, or property by fraud:He defrauded them of their life savings.
de•fraud
(di frôd′),USA pronunciation v.t.
de•frau•da•tion
(dē′frô dā′shən),USA pronunciation de•fraud′ment, n.
de•fraud′er, n.
- to deprive of a right, money, or property by fraud:Dishonest employees defrauded the firm of millions of dollars.
- Latin dēfraudāre, equivalent. to dē- de- + fraudāre to cheat; see fraud
- Old French defrauder
- 1325–75; Middle English defrauden
- bilk, swindle, fleece, rip off, gyp, rook, cheat.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'defraud' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
ace
- bilk
- bill of goods
- cheat
- circumvent
- cleaner
- collusion
- con
- counterfeit
- de dolo malo
- deceive
- delude
- fleece
- gyp
- hoax
- impose
- lurch
- mulct
- nick
- nobble
- plant
- ream
- rob
- scam
- slip
- stitch up
- suck
- swindle
- trick
- undefrauded
- uttering
- victimize
- wrong