: a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation
an insurance scam
scammed; scamming; scams
1
: to deceive and defraud (someone)
… the law firm had got the lucrative job of defending the corporate head of a savings and loan that had scammed another thousand or so people out of their savings …—
Joseph Wambaugh
Joseph Wambaugh2
: to obtain (something, such as money) by a scam
A Boston hedge fund manager who scammed millions of dollars from friends, family and other investors in what authorities say was a Ponzi scheme has been sent to prison for more than 14 years.—The Worcester (Massachusetts) Telegram & Gazette
The Worcester (Massachusetts) Telegram & GazetteSynonyms
Examples of scam in a Sentence
Noun
She was the victim of an insurance scam.
a sophisticated credit card scam
Verb
The company scammed hundreds of people out of their life savings.
I could tell they were scamming you and charging too much.
They scammed a lot of money from unwary customers.
Recent Examples on the Web
Brittney Melton, NPR, 27 Dec. 2024
Some scams are done via hardware, while others can be done online.
—Marley Malenfant, USA TODAY, 26 Dec. 2024
Zak Doffman, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024
The story begins with young Estela (Anna Díaz) making her way through the side door sometime before opening to ever-so-slightly scam her way into a position as an assistant cook.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for scam 
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Noun
Life advice Olivier Morin/AFP via Getty Images Fraudsters are improving their scams with the help of artificial intelligence.
—Brittney Melton, NPR, 27 Dec. 2024
Some scams are done via hardware, while others can be done online.
—Marley Malenfant, USA TODAY, 26 Dec. 2024
Verb
These include real-time, on-device threat monitoring for malware and even scam calls that set a new bar for safeguarding our smartphones.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024
The story begins with young Estela (Anna Díaz) making her way through the side door sometime before opening to ever-so-slightly scam her way into a position as an assistant cook.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for scam
Dictionary Entries Near scam
Cite this Entry
“Scam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scam. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
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