cheat — to act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: to act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage
Pronunciation (IPA): /tʃiːt/
Example Sentences
- My diet app thinks I'm super healthy, but I cheat by entering 'salad' when I actually ate pizza.
- Students who cheat on tests only cheat themselves out of learning.
- He used a cheat code to get unlimited lives in the game.
cheat
VERB[/tʃiːt/]
to act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage
to act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage
He tries to cheat to win the beat, but it leads to defeat.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
The word derives from Middle English 'escheat,' a legal term originally meaning 'to confiscate' or 'to revert to the crown.' Over time, the meaning evolved from the literal seizure of property to the deceptive acquisition of something through trickery, eventually acquiring its modern sense of dishonest behavior.
Breakdown
escheat (to confiscate) → cheat (to deceive). The initial 'es-' prefix was gradually lost through phonetic erosion in Middle English, leaving 'cheat' as the simplified form that developed its extended meaning of obtaining something through deception rather than legal confiscation.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“My diet app thinks I'm super healthy, but I cheat by entering 'salad' when I actually ate pizza.”
“Students who cheat on tests only cheat themselves out of learning.”
“He used a cheat code to get unlimited lives in the game.”
“She felt guilty about cheating on her boyfriend with a slice of chocolate cake while on a diet.”
📚Related Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
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