cheat
cheat Lexical Profile
cheat Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game, competition, or examination.
"Students who choose to cheat on the final exam will face immediate disciplinary action."
To deprive someone of something valuable by using deceit or fraud.
"The dishonest merchant tried to cheat the tourists by overcharging them for souvenirs."
To be sexually unfaithful to one's spouse or romantic partner (usually followed by 'on').
"Their marriage ended abruptly after she discovered he had been planning to cheat on her."
To narrowly avoid or escape an undesirable fate, such as death or injury, as if by trickery or luck.
"The mountaineer managed to cheat death when the avalanche swept just past his camp."
• noun
A person who acts dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game or examination.
"Nobody wanted to play cards with him after he was exposed as a cheat."
An act of deception, fraud, or unfair trickery, or a hidden code used to gain an advantage in a video game.
"The players entered a special cheat to unlock all the levels in the video game."
Any of several annual Eurasian brome grasses (especially Bromus secalinus) that grow as troublesome weeds in grain fields and closely resemble wheat or rye before maturity.
"The farmer inspected the wheat field carefully to make sure it was free of cheat."
Word Nuance & Usage
In British English, 'cheat' is the standard noun for a dishonest person, whereas in American English, 'cheater' is much more common in everyday speech.
• Rhymes for cheat
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Shortened in Middle English from 'escheat', which came via Old French from Medieval Latin 'excadere' (to fall out or revert), originally referring to property reverting to a feudal lord upon a tenant's death without heirs, often enforced unfairly by royal officers.