Word.ws English Dictionary

defraud

/dɪˈfɹɔːd/US/dɪˈfɹɔd/

defraud verb: to obtain money or property from (a person) by fraud; to swindle.

Verb

defraud (third-person singular simple present defrauds, present participle defrauding, simple past and past participle defrauded)

  1. (transitive) To obtain money or property from (a person) by fraud; to swindle.
    • I had never defrauded a man of a farthing, nor called him knave behind his back. But now the last rag that covered my nakedness had been torn from me. I was branded a blackleg, card-sharper, and murderer.1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter II, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC
  2. (archaic) To deprive.
    • Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Corinthians 7:5
    • She is sinned against, because she is defrauded of her rights ^((i.e. sexual satisfaction)).1872, William Goodell, “On Conjugal Onanism and Kindred Sins”, in Nashville Journal of Medicine and Surgery, volume 9, page 63

defraud meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Malayalam

defraud in Hindi

to obtain money or property by fraud
ठगना ṭhagnā

defraud in Tamil

ஏமாற்று, மோசடி செய், வஞ்சி

defraud in Urdu

اندھا کرنا, دھوکا دینا, فریب دینا, حق مارنا

defraud in Malayalam

to obtain money or property by fraud
വഞ്ചിക്കുക vañcikkuka, പറ്റിക്കുക paṟṟikkuka
More languagesFewer languages
defraud in Kannada
ವಂಚಿಸು, ಮೋಸಗೊಳಿಸು, ದಗಾಹಾಕು, ವಂಚನೆಯಿಂದ ಗಳಿಸು

Examples of defraud in a sentence

  • To doctor the signature of an instrument with intent to defraud is an example of forgery.
  • Mr. Martin was found guilty of defrauding the Commonwealth by making false welfare claims.
  • Reeve Edgar le Sherman, honest and fair," he mocked, "defrauding his own fellows for gain.

All 10 example sentences with defraud

Forms of defraud

third-person singular presentdefrauds
present participledefrauding
past participledefrauded
pastdefrauded
alternative form (obsolete)defraude

Past tense of defraud: defrauded

Origin of defraud

From Middle English defrauden, from Old French defrauder, from de- + frauder.

Words formed from defraud

Words that rhyme with defraud

11 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about defraud

What does defraud mean?
Defraud means to obtain money or property from (a person) by fraud; to swindle.
What is defraud in Hindi?
Defraud in Hindi is ठगना (ṭhagnā). See Defraud meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is defraud?
Defraud is a verb.
How do you pronounce defraud?
Defraud is pronounced /dɪˈfɹɔːd/ (UK).
What is the past tense of defraud?
The past tense of defraud is defrauded.

Words near defraud in the dictionary

  1. defragmenters
  2. defragmenting
  3. defragments
  4. defrags
  5. DeFrank
  6. defraud
  7. defraudable
  8. defraudation
  9. defraudations
  10. defraude
  11. defrauded

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: defraud (page history and authors); defraud (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); defraud (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); defraud (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “defraud.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/defraud. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.