Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ponzi

/ˈpɑnzi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.93 in modern English

Syllables: ponzi
IPA: /ˈpɑnzi/

16

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Pertaining to a scheme whereby investors' returns are paid for directly by later investors' investments, giving the false impression that the investment is viable.

noun

A Ponzi scheme.

verb

To introduce or perpetrate a Ponzi scheme style scam.

Informal; Intransitive verb

verb

To deceive someone by promising false investment returns that are funded by the proceeds of a new victim.

Informal; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"Officers, who say he [Kautilya Nandan Pruthi] was Britain's most prolific Ponzi fraudster "by some way", fear that only around £2m will be returned to his victims."
"Based on the media's portrayal of these Ponzies, at the end of the day, it seems as though these villains had zero concern about what they were doing to their clients."
"There are as many Ponzies and greedy people that have infinite time and resources, knowledge, freedom and the greatest of all, The Purpose!"
"To be fair, degenerate gambling and poorly designed Ponzis have consumed some corners of the crypto market, […]"
"Harry then ponzied over on Rotarians, the slickest scheme in high finance that has ever been witnessed by the organization."
"Senator KERRY: Lending and ponzying and scheming and defrauding and buying illegally and doing all these things, correct?"

Etymology

Named after con artist Charles Ponzi (1882–1949) who notoriously ran such type of scam.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈpɑnzi/
British English: /ˈpɒnzi/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Ponzis (plural) Ponzies (plural) Ponzies (present, rare) Ponzying (participle, present) Ponzied (participle, past) Ponzied (past)

Rhymes With

monsey lattanzi vanzee swansea bronzy

Questions

How do you pronounce ponzi?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɑnzi/.
What does ponzi mean?: Pertaining to a scheme whereby investors' returns are paid for directly by later investors' investments, giving the false impression that the investment is viable.
Where does ponzi come from?: Named after con artist Charles Ponzi (1882–1949) who notoriously ran such type of scam.

How to pronounce ponzi

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “ponzi”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpɑnzi/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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