What does grift mean?
Grift is an informal English noun for a swindle, con, or dishonest scheme designed to deceive people for money or other gain. As a verb, it means to swindle or cheat someone, especially through false promises or misrepresentations. The term is chiefly associated with American English and carries a strong connotation of deliberate, often repeated deception rather than an ordinary mistake. “Pull a grift” means to carry out such a swindle, while a “grift scheme” describes the dishonest plan itself. A grifter is the person who practices such deception. Grift can also imply opportunism: someone may be accused of grifting customers when a business repeatedly misleads them for profit. Although often discussed alongside fraud and corruption, grift more directly evokes deception carried out through a scheme or trick. It is especially useful in journalism and everyday criticism when describing deception whose specific mechanism may not yet be clear.
A swindle, dishonest scheme, or fraudulent practice designed to deceive others for gain; an act of cheating.
"Investigators concluded that the charity's fundraising operation was an elaborate grift."
Often used in informal and journalistic descriptions of organized or financially motivated deception.
To swindle, cheat, or deceive someone, especially for money.
"The company grifted customers by selling subscriptions it knew could never be honored."
Commonly transitive, as in “grift investors,” but it can also be used intransitively in broader contexts.
The regular plural is used for separate deceptive schemes or instances of cheating.
"The report documented several financial grifts that had gone undetected for years."
Grift names both the trick and the trickster: a swindle is a grift, and the person behind it is a grifter.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does grift come from?
Grift is an American English alteration of the older verb graft, “to swindle or cheat,” and became established in the early twentieth century. It developed a sense for the deceptive scheme or act itself while the older verb continued to carry broader meanings involving theft, cheating, and illicit gain. Its related forms, including graft, grafting, and grafter, share that older base, while graft also has independent horticultural, medical, and corruption-related senses.
Related word forms
How grift is actually used
Informal and chiefly American, though now encountered more broadly in English. It generally suggests deliberate, organized, or repeated deception rather than an innocent mistake, and is often used in financial, commercial, political, and charitable contexts.
Easily confused with grift
Grift specifically refers to deception or a swindle, whereas graft can also mean corrupt payment, illicit political gain, or the biological and woodworking practice of joining living tissue or plant material.
Grift, pronounced with a final /t/, means to cheat or swindle; grit, pronounced with a final /t/ and an unvoiced final consonant, means perseverance or coarse particles.