cheating

Verb

cheat (third-person singular simple present cheats, present participle cheating, simple past and past participle cheated)

1. (intransitive) To violate rules in order to gain, or attempt to gain, advantage from a situation.
   • My brother flunked biology because he cheated on his mid-term.
2. (intransitive) To be unfaithful to one's spouse or partner; to commit adultery, or to engage in sexual or romantic conduct with a person other than one's partner in contravention of the rules of society or agreement in the relationship.
   • My husband cheated on me with his secretary.

   Synonyms:

   step out on

3. (transitive) To avoid a seemingly inevitable thing.
   • He cheated death when his car collided with a moving train.
4. (transitive) To deceive; to fool; to trick.
   • My ex-wife cheated me out of $40,000.

   Synonyms:

   rook, blench, lirt, burn, beguile

5. (informal, intransitive) To disregard self-imposed restrictions or commitments in favour of resting or indulging oneself.

See all 11 meanings of cheat