Ask the Editor
"Swindle"
Question
"Swindle"
Answer
When someone fools you into buying a worthless or inferior or defective item at a high price, you have been swindled.
Swindle is usually followed by "out of":
He swindled elderly women out of their savings.
They were swindled out of their season tickets.
Link to this page:
You can read more articles in the archive.
© 2026 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.