scam

[skam] /skæm/
noun
1.
a confidence game or other fraudulent scheme, especially for making a quick profit; swindle.
verb (used with object), scammed, scamming.
2.
to cheat or defraud with a scam.
Origin
1960-65; orig. carnival argot; of obscure origin
Related forms
scammer, noun
Can be confused
scam, scan.
Examples from the web for scam
  • Anyways, it's no more of a scam than academia in general is a scam.
  • But given the huge amount of paperwork required to keep his scam going, it seems unlikely that no one else knew about it.
  • For nature's scam artists survival means lying, stealing, or vanishing in place.
  • But it creates a lot of false alarms and continues to do so even after you tell a site is not a scam.
  • The artist seems to be a bit of a scam artist rather than someone with real talent.
  • There would be no page charges or anything of that nature so it's not some money-making scam.
  • For anyone uncertain about this: the test is a scam.
  • The reason: he has a plan for a scam that will make him a multi-millionaire.
  • Making a temporary hire is a standard scam for being elevated to the post when it is declared permanent.
  • He could not look into offshore bank accounts used to channel proceeds from the scam.
British Dictionary definitions for scam

scam

/skæm/
noun
1.
a stratagem for gain; a swindle
verb scams, scamming, scammed
2.
(transitive) to swindle (someone) by means of a trick
Word Origin and History for scam

1963, noun and verb, U.S. slang, a carnival term, of unknown origin. Perhaps related to 19c. British slang scamp "cheater, swindler" (see scamp (n.)).

Slang definitions & phrases for scam

scam

noun
  1. (also scambo) A swindle; confidence game; fraud; con: It was a full scam/ Looking for a good scambo for April Fool's Day (1963+)
  2. The information; the LOW-DOWN, the SCOOP: Here's the scam. We're holing in for the night (1964+)
verb
  1. (also scam on): You guys are scamming me
  2. To fool around and waste time: scamming in the back room
Related Terms

what's the scam

[origin unknown; perhaps related to early 1800s British scamp, ''cheater, swindler'']