What does cheat mean?
To cheat is to behave dishonestly in order to gain an unfair advantage — whether by breaking rules in a game or exam, deceiving someone out of money or property, or being unfaithful to a partner. The word works both as a verb and, less often, as a noun meaning either a person who cheats or the deceptive act itself. Its connotations are firmly disapproving: calling someone a cheat impugns their integrity rather than merely their competence. Common patterns include 'cheat on' (romantic infidelity), 'cheat someone out of' (financial swindle), 'cheat death' (narrowly escape disaster), and the informal 'cheat sheet,' a set of notes used for illicit help or quick reference. Etymologically surprising, 'cheat' derives from 'escheat,' a legal term for property reverting to the crown — the modern sense grew from the idea of acquiring goods through such legal trickery.
To act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, especially by breaking rules in a game, examination, or contest.
"She was expelled for using her phone to cheat during the final."
Frequently takes prepositional complements: 'cheat at cards,' 'cheat in an exam,' 'cheat on a test.'
To deceive or defraud someone, especially of money or property (as in 'cheat someone out of something').
"The broker cheated hundreds of clients out of their retirement savings."
A person who behaves dishonestly to gain an advantage; a swindler.
"Everyone knew he was a cheat who never played a fair hand."
An act or instance of deception or rule-breaking, especially in a game or exam.
"Referees reviewed the footage to determine whether the goal involved a cheat."
Standard plural; refers to multiple acts of cheating or multiple people who cheat.
"The new anti-cheating software has caught dozens of cheats."
"Cheat" began life not as a word for liars but as a term for confiscated property — it's a shortened form of "escheat," the legal reversion of a dead man's land to the Crown.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cheat
Cheat originated as a shortening of escheat, from Old French escheat, ultimately from Vulgar Latin *excadere, 'to fall away,' based on Latin ex- plus cadere, 'to fall.' In medieval English law, escheat referred to land passing back to the lord or Crown when its holder died without heirs; the shortened form came to denote property acquired through such means, then any ill-gotten gains, and finally the act of obtaining them by deceit — senses attested by the early seventeenth century. The only surviving English cognate of this lineage is the legal term escheat itself.
Related word forms
How cheat is actually used
The verb is informal-to-neutral in register and strongly negative in connotation. The phrasal sense 'cheat on' specifically implies romantic infidelity, while 'cheat someone out of' implies financial deception. In gaming contexts, cheating carries particular social stigma among players.
Easily confused with cheat
'Cheat' is the common word for dishonest gain or deception in games and dealings, while 'chicane' is a rare, formal term for trickery and more commonly refers to a series of tight bends on a racetrack.