Scam — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a fraudulent business scheme

deprive of by deceit

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/skˈæm/

🇬🇧British English

/skˈam/

🇮🇳Indian English

/skˈam/

1 syllable Say it as /skˈæm/.

Examples

He swindled me out of my inheritance
She defrauded the customers who trusted her
the cashier gypped me when he gave me too little change

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

defraud victimize diddle gyp nobble gip goldbrick rook mulct cozenage hornswoggle short-change bunco con swindle

Parts of Speech

noun	a fraudulent business scheme
verb	deprive of by deceit “He swindled me out of my inheritance”

Word Forms

scam	verb	deprive of by deceit
cozen	verb	act with artful deceit
victimization	noun	an act that exploits or victimizes someone (treats them unfairly)
swindler	noun	a person who swindles you by means of deception or fraud
swindle	noun	the act of swindling by some fraudulent scheme
bunco	noun	a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property
defrauder	noun	a person who swindles you by means of deception or fraud
scammer	noun	a person who swindles you by means of deception or fraud
scam	noun	a fraudulent business scheme
gyp	noun	a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property
con	noun	a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Betrug

ein betrügerischer Geschäftsplan

🇫🇷French

arnaque

un stratagème commercial frauduleux

🇪🇸Spanish

estafa

un plan de negocios fraudulento

🇮🇹Italian

truffa

un piano commerciale fraudolento

🇵🇹Portuguese

fraude

um esquema empresarial fraudulento

🇷🇺Russian

мошенничество

мошенническая бизнес-схема

India

🇮🇳Hindi

घोटाला

एक कपटपूर्ण व्यवसाय योजना

🇧🇩Bengali

কেলেঙ্কারি

একটি প্রতারণামূলক ব্যবসা পরিকল্পনা

🇮🇳Tamil

மோசடி

ஒரு மோசடி வணிக திட்டம்

🇮🇳Telugu

స్కామ్

ఒక మోసపూరిత వ్యాపార పథకం

🇮🇳Marathi

घोटाळा

एक फसवी व्यवसाय योजना

🇮🇳Gujarati

કૌભાંડ

એક કપટી વ્યવસાય યોજના

🇮🇳Kannada

ಹಗರಣ

ಒಂದು ಮೋಸದ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ ಯೋಜನೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

അഴിമതി

ഒരു വഞ്ചനാപരമായ ബിസിനസ്സ് സ്കീം

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਘੁਟਾਲਾ

ਇੱਕ ਧੋਖੇਬਾਜ਼ ਕਾਰੋਬਾਰੀ ਸਕੀਮ

🇵🇰Urdu

گھوٹالہ

ایک دھوکہ دہی پر مبنی کاروباری اسکیم

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

骗局

欺诈性商业计划

🇯🇵Japanese

詐欺

詐欺的なビジネススキーム

🇰🇷Korean

스캠

사기적인 사업 계획

🇻🇳Vietnamese

lừa đảo

một kế hoạch kinh doanh lừa đảo

🇹🇭Thai

หลอกลวง

โครงการธุรกิจที่ฉ้อโกง

🇮🇩Indonesian

tipuan

skema bisnis penipuan

🇲🇾Malay

penipuan

skim perniagaan penipuan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

غش

مخطط تجاري احتيالي

🇮🇷Persian

کلاهبرداری

یک طرح تجاری متقلبانه

🇹🇷Turkish

sahtekarlık

hileli bir iş planı

🇮🇱Hebrew

הונאה

תוכנית עסקית הונאה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'scam'?

The primary meaning of 'scam' is 'a fraudulent business scheme'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'scam' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'scam' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'scam' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'scam' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'scam' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'scam' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'scam' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'scam' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'scam' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'scam' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted