scam
/ˈskæːm/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.94 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A fraudulent or dishonest deal. A swindle.
Example Sentences
- "That marketing scheme looks like a scam to me."
- "a scam catches most people with any sense of compassion"
- "That new diet burger is a scam."
- "They tried to scam her out of her savings."
- "His friend nudged me. "It's true. JJ only scams black ladies." / "You don't say?" / "J-boy scammed a real live Miss Black Universe once. Met her in a disco down in Honduras. Wearing her title. Since then he's been obsessed.""
Etymology
US American carnival slang of uncertain origin. Possibly from scamp (“swindler, cheater”) or Irish cam (“crooked”). Also possibly from Danish skam; if so, it would be a doublet of shame and sham. First use appears c. 1963 in the periodical Time. The word became common use among the US drug culture when in early 1980, after Operation ABSCAM, an FBI sting operation directed at public officials, became public.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈskæːm/
- British English: /ˈskæm/