gyp
gyp Lexical Profile
gyp Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An act of cheating someone; a swindle or fraud (informal, sometimes considered offensive).
"Paying twenty dollars for such a tiny portion felt like a total gyp."
British Severe pain or acute discomfort, typically used in the phrase 'give someone gyp' (informal).
"His arthritic knee has been giving him gyp all morning because of the cold damp weather."
British A college servant or attendant at Cambridge or Durham University (historical or dated).
"In nineteenth-century Cambridge, the student's gyp was responsible for lighting the coal fire and tidying the rooms."
• verb
To cheat, swindle, or defraud someone out of money or what is rightfully theirs (informal, sometimes considered offensive).
"The tourists complained that the street vendor had gypped them out of ten dollars when giving change."
Word Nuance & Usage
Because 'gyp' (in the sense of cheating or a swindle) is widely considered to derive from 'Gypsy', a dated and often offensive exonym for the Romani people, many speakers and style guides recommend avoiding the term in favor of neutral alternatives like 'rip off', 'cheat', or 'swindle'.
• Rhymes for gyp
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Attested in the late 19th century in the sense of cheating, probably as a shortening of 'Gypsy'. The British sense meaning a college servant dates to the 18th century, possibly from obsolete 'gippo' (a menial kitchen servant, originally a tunic).
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.