mountebank

UK: /ˈmaʊntɪˌbæŋk/ US: /ˈmaʊntəˌbæŋk/ ,(moun′tə bangk′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

moun•te•bank /ˈmaʊntəˌbæŋk/   n. [countable]

1. a person who tries to fool or deceive people.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

moun•te•bank  (moun′tə bangk′), n. 

1. a person who sells quack medicines, as from a platform in public places, attracting and influencing an audience by tricks, storytelling, etc.
2. any charlatan or quack.

v.i. 

3. to act or operate as a mountebank.

• Italian montimbanco one who climbs on a bench, equivalent. to mont(are) to climb (see mount¹) + -im-, variant of in on + banco bench (see bank²)
• Middle French)
• 1570–80; (

moun•te•bank•er•y  (moun′tə bangk′ə rē), n.  Synonyms

• 1. pitchman.
• 2. phony, pretender, fraud.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

mountebank / ˈmaʊntɪˌbæŋk/ noun

1. (formerly) a person who sold quack medicines in public places
2. a charlatan; fake

verb

1. (intransitive) to play the mountebank

Etymology: 16th Century: from Italian montambanco a climber on a bench, from montare to mount² + banco bench (see also bank¹)

ˌmounteˈbankery noun