: 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
Davey Winder, Forbes, 15 Dec. 2024
The year was 2014, the heyday of the Nigerian prince email scam, and the up-and-coming attorney was no fool.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 13 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 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
These iPhone discount scams are, at heart, nothing more than phishing attacks.
—Davey Winder, Forbes, 15 Dec. 2024
The year was 2014, the heyday of the Nigerian prince email scam, and the up-and-coming attorney was no fool.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 13 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 21 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share