: 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 & GazetteExamples 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
Manish Paudel, NBC news, 3 Apr. 2026
Shah served less than three years of her 6½-year sentence after pleading guilty in July 2022 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a nationwide investment scam that targeted mostly elderly, vulnerable women.
—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 3 Apr. 2026
Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 24 Mar. 2026
But the sites were actually a ruse to scam customers out of their money, according to law enforcement in Europe.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scam
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Noun
An alleged $20 million insurance scam on Mount Everest saw climbers subjected to staged rescues and admitted to hospitals across Kathmandu in a scheme to fraudulently claim insurance money, Nepali authorities say.
—Manish Paudel, NBC news, 3 Apr. 2026
Shah served less than three years of her 6½-year sentence after pleading guilty in July 2022 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a nationwide investment scam that targeted mostly elderly, vulnerable women.
—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 3 Apr. 2026
Verb
Why DocuSign scams work so well DocuSign is used by millions of businesses and government agencies.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 24 Mar. 2026
But the sites were actually a ruse to scam customers out of their money, according to law enforcement in Europe.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scam
Cite this Entry
“Scam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scam. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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