What does embezzling mean?
Embezzling refers to the crime of taking money or property that has been entrusted to one's care, most often committed by employees, treasurers, or officials who exploit legitimate access to funds for personal gain. Unlike ordinary theft, embezzlement presupposes trust: the perpetrator was lawfully in possession of the assets before converting them to their own use. The word appears almost exclusively in formal, legal, and journalistic contexts — news reports describe executives 'embezzling millions', courts charge defendants with the offense, and audits uncover the schemes. It carries strong connotations of betrayal and breach of fiduciary duty, often evoking white-collar crime rather than street theft. Derived forms include embezzlement (the act or crime), embezzler (the person who commits it), and the base verb embezzle. The term derives ultimately from Old French embesillier, meaning to destroy or cause to disappear.
verb (present participle of embezzle)The act of dishonestly taking money or property that has been entrusted to one's care, typically by someone in a position of financial responsibility such as an employee or official.
- To steal or misappropriate funds or property entrusted to one's care, especially by an employee or person in a position of trust.
"The accountant was arrested for embezzling nearly two million dollars from her employer over a decade."
"He spent five years embezzling from the charity he had founded."
"The treasurer confessed to embezzling club dues to cover personal debts."
The word 'embezzle' traces back to an Old French verb meaning roughly 'to make away with' — centuries before anyone coined a term for making off with other people's money.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of embezzling
Embezzling is the present participle of embezzle, which entered English in the early modern period from Anglo-Norman and Old French embesillier (variant of besillier), meaning to destroy, ruin, or cause to disappear. The underlying sense of making something vanish evolved into the specific legal sense of making entrusted money disappear. The noun form embezzlement became established in English law by the 16th–17th century as a distinct offence separate from larceny.
Related word forms
How embezzling is actually used
Strictly a formal, legal register term: it names a specific crime rather than everyday theft. It always implies a breach of trust — the thief had legitimate access to the money first — which distinguishes it from ordinary theft in both legal and ordinary usage.
Easily confused with embezzling
Embezzling involves taking property already lawfully entrusted to the taker, whereas larceny involves taking property from someone's possession without any such entrustment.