cheated; cheating; cheats
1
: to deprive of something valuable by the use of deceit or fraud
cheated the elderly couple out of their property
2
: to influence or lead by deceit, trick, or artifice
a young man who cheated young women into marrying him when he was already married
3
: to elude or thwart by or as if by outwitting
cheat death
1
a
: to practice fraud or trickery
denied the accusation that he cheated
b
: to violate rules dishonestly
cheat at cards
cheating on a test
2
: to be sexually unfaithful
—usually used with on
was cheating on his wife
3
: to position oneself defensively near a particular area in anticipation of a play in that area
the shortstop was cheating toward second base
1
2
or cheat code
: a code (such as a button combination or password) that activates a hidden feature or capability in a computer or video game
In fact, some game levels are so tough that I had to resort to cheats to get through.—
Peter Cohen
Peter CohenMost people think that using a cheat code is the only way to earn a dishonest reward …—Christopher Breen
Christopher Breen4
5
: the obtaining of property from another by an intentional active distortion of the truth
Synonyms
Examples of cheat in a Sentence
Verb
The players were accused of cheating.
I had to cheat in order to solve the puzzle.
The store cheats its customers through false advertising.
They cheated him out of a fair deal.
a heroin addict who has cheated death many times
Recent Examples on the WebThe Know, The Denver Post, 17 Apr. 2024
Accusations in China of cheating in sports are not new, especially with distance running.
—TIME, 16 Apr. 2024
In 2018, organizers of the Shenzhen Half Marathon said 258 participants had been caught cheating, including wearing fake bibs and taking shortcuts.
—Peter Guo, NBC News, 15 Apr. 2024
In July 2022, Renay accused her now ex-husband of cheating via social media.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024
The new demand apparently came from a ransomware group that feels it has been cheated by its partners in the first demand, who may have absconded with the original payoff.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
It’s meant to help those who were in programs that ended up becoming ineligible to receive federal student aid or programs found to have cheated students.
—Darlene Superville, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2024
In the old days, cheating at a smog test was easy: A smog operation (there are approximately 7,000 in California) would just sign off.
—Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
On screen, the Vanderpump Rules cast continues to deal with the fall out of the cheating scandal.
—Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
Matt Egan, CNN, 19 Mar. 2024
The push is part of the agency's ongoing mission of going after high-wealth tax cheats and businesses that game the tax system at the expense of American taxpayers.
—CBS News, 21 Feb. 2024
The agency is investing billions of dollars to improve customer service, and to go after wealthy tax cheats.
—Scott Horsley, NPR, 24 Mar. 2024
These include increasing tax rates on corporations and wealthy individuals, closing loopholes that benefit mega-millionaires, and ensuring the IRS has the resources to go after tax cheats.
—Susan Harley, The Mercury News, 23 Mar. 2024
Its guardrails can even be broken using certain prompts that act like cheat codes, letting players roam otherwise inaccessible areas.
—Patrick House, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024
Related: Genetic cheat code might explain why some people catch Covid but never get sick
The abstention from alcohol for women between the ages of 15-49 (unless using birth control) is a great example of applying that framework.
—Ashish K. Jha, STAT, 6 Mar. 2024
The truth is that there is wasteful spending that needs to be cut, and there are loopholes and tax cheats that cost our country billions of dollars every year.
—Gillian Brassil, Sacramento Bee, 5 Feb. 2024
Slotting just one 45-minute workout into my day is hard enough–two feels out of the question–and having zero cheat meals at all in nearly three months feels almost military.
—Hannah Coates, Vogue, 4 Feb. 2024
Verb
Ensuing characters all lie, cheat and deceive in various ways about all things, large and small.
—The Know, The Denver Post, 17 Apr. 2024
Accusations in China of cheating in sports are not new, especially with distance running.
—TIME, 16 Apr. 2024
In 2018, organizers of the Shenzhen Half Marathon said 258 participants had been caught cheating, including wearing fake bibs and taking shortcuts.
—Peter Guo, NBC News, 15 Apr. 2024
In July 2022, Renay accused her now ex-husband of cheating via social media.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024
The new demand apparently came from a ransomware group that feels it has been cheated by its partners in the first demand, who may have absconded with the original payoff.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
It’s meant to help those who were in programs that ended up becoming ineligible to receive federal student aid or programs found to have cheated students.
—Darlene Superville, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2024
In the old days, cheating at a smog test was easy: A smog operation (there are approximately 7,000 in California) would just sign off.
—Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
On screen, the Vanderpump Rules cast continues to deal with the fall out of the cheating scandal.
—Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
Noun
Even the Treasury Department and the IRS are turning to AI to fight financial crime and find tax cheats.
—Matt Egan, CNN, 19 Mar. 2024
The push is part of the agency's ongoing mission of going after high-wealth tax cheats and businesses that game the tax system at the expense of American taxpayers.
—CBS News, 21 Feb. 2024
The agency is investing billions of dollars to improve customer service, and to go after wealthy tax cheats.
—Scott Horsley, NPR, 24 Mar. 2024
These include increasing tax rates on corporations and wealthy individuals, closing loopholes that benefit mega-millionaires, and ensuring the IRS has the resources to go after tax cheats.
—Susan Harley, The Mercury News, 23 Mar. 2024
Its guardrails can even be broken using certain prompts that act like cheat codes, letting players roam otherwise inaccessible areas.
—Patrick House, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024
Related: Genetic cheat code might explain why some people catch Covid but never get sick
The abstention from alcohol for women between the ages of 15-49 (unless using birth control) is a great example of applying that framework.
—Ashish K. Jha, STAT, 6 Mar. 2024
The truth is that there is wasteful spending that needs to be cut, and there are loopholes and tax cheats that cost our country billions of dollars every year.
—Gillian Brassil, Sacramento Bee, 5 Feb. 2024
Slotting just one 45-minute workout into my day is hard enough–two feels out of the question–and having zero cheat meals at all in nearly three months feels almost military.
—Hannah Coates, Vogue, 4 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cheat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near cheat
Cite this Entry
“Cheat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cheat. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cheat
1 of 2 verb1
: to deprive of something valuable by dishonest methods
cheated them out of their property
2
: to successfully avoid or oppose by or as if by cleverness
the daredevil had cheated death again
3
: to use unfair or dishonest methods to gain an advantage
cheat on a test
cheat at cards
cheater
noun
cheat
2 of 2 noun1
: an act of cheating
2
: a person who cheats
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