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bezzle

English

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bezzle¹

Where it comes from

From Middle English besilen, from Old French besiler, besillier (“to mistreat, pillage”); or shortened from English embezzle.

verb bezzles · bezzling · bezzled

  1. obsolete, transitive To plunder; to lay waste to, in riot.
  2. obsolete To drink to excess; to revel.
  3. obsolete, transitive To squander.

bezzle²

Where it comes from

Coined by John Kenneth Galbraith, from embezzle.

noun bezzles

  1. The level or proportion of financial sector activity that consists of hidden embezzlement, varying in step with the business cycle.
  2. The time between when a confidence trickster has stolen money from an unsuspecting person and when that person realizes the money has been stolen. That word is bezzle. It describes the period in which an embezzler has stolen a man's money but the victim does not yet realize he's been swindled.
  3. The difference between the short-term or current market value of an asset and its true long-term worth.

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MLA

"bezzle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bezzle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

bezzle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bezzle

Chicago

"bezzle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bezzle.

BibTeX
@misc{bezzle_2026,
  title = {bezzle},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bezzle},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}