grifted; grifting; grifts
: to obtain (money or property) illicitly (as in a confidence game)
: to acquire money or property illicitly
grift
noun
grifter
noun
Did you know?
A grifter might be a pickpocket, a crooked gambler, scammer, or a confidence man. Grift may have come from graft, a slightly older word meaning "to acquire dishonestly."
Examples of grift in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But a clumsy execution could undermine Trump’s attempt to ingratiate himself, perpetuating the impression that the crypto industry is a breeding ground for scams and grift.
—
Joel Khalili, WIRED, 4 Sep. 2024
And as unctuous as the IBA proved to be, their leaders made a fair point about IOC grift that has remained a stain on the Olympic movement: why, exactly, do members receive five-star accommodation and ludicrous per diems while many athletes struggle to survive?
—Sean Gregory / Paris, TIME, 11 Aug. 2024
For The Walrus, reporter Rachel Browne writes to Patrice Runner, the Canadian king of mail order grift, a man whose persuasive direct-mail copy writing skills deceived vulnerable believers to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
—Krista Stevens, Longreads, 27 July 2023
Free housing, free travel, endless opportunities to grift your gullible followers, all the Thousand Island dressing you could dream of.
—Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 24 July 2023
Crypto’s massive potential has certainly been overshadowed recently by scams, grift, and speculation.
—Li Jin, Fortune Crypto, 18 Apr. 2023
Known for: passionate defense of global women; using White House position to grift for fashion brand until shuttering it in 2018 after slumping sales.
—Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 27 Oct. 2021
Anna Sorokin, who posed as a German heiress named Anna Delvey to grift her way into a luxurious Manhattan lifestyle, has been released from prison this week after years of backlash for her famous SoHo scam.
—Erin Corbett, refinery29.com, 14 Feb. 2021
The coronavirus era has plainly shown how unprepared nursing homes were to deal with such a huge crisis, but equally how many of them are eager to grift and skim, even in the direst times.
—Libby Watson, The New Republic, 26 May 2020
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Joel Khalili, WIRED, 4 Sep. 2024
And as unctuous as the IBA proved to be, their leaders made a fair point about IOC grift that has remained a stain on the Olympic movement: why, exactly, do members receive five-star accommodation and ludicrous per diems while many athletes struggle to survive?
—Sean Gregory / Paris, TIME, 11 Aug. 2024
For The Walrus, reporter Rachel Browne writes to Patrice Runner, the Canadian king of mail order grift, a man whose persuasive direct-mail copy writing skills deceived vulnerable believers to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
—Krista Stevens, Longreads, 27 July 2023
Free housing, free travel, endless opportunities to grift your gullible followers, all the Thousand Island dressing you could dream of.
—Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 24 July 2023
Crypto’s massive potential has certainly been overshadowed recently by scams, grift, and speculation.
—Li Jin, Fortune Crypto, 18 Apr. 2023
Known for: passionate defense of global women; using White House position to grift for fashion brand until shuttering it in 2018 after slumping sales.
—Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 27 Oct. 2021
Anna Sorokin, who posed as a German heiress named Anna Delvey to grift her way into a luxurious Manhattan lifestyle, has been released from prison this week after years of backlash for her famous SoHo scam.
—Erin Corbett, refinery29.com, 14 Feb. 2021
The coronavirus era has plainly shown how unprepared nursing homes were to deal with such a huge crisis, but equally how many of them are eager to grift and skim, even in the direst times.
—Libby Watson, The New Republic, 26 May 2020
Articles Related to grift
Dictionary Entries Near grift
Cite this Entry
“Grift.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grift. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share