grift
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grift
- /ɡɹɪft/
Rhymes with -ɪft
Where it comes from
American criminal underworld slang, 1906 (noun), 1915 (verb), alteration of graft (“corruption, illicit profit through corrupt means, bribe, one's occupation”), alteration perhaps influenced by similar sounding words, e.g. drift, etc., probably ultimately from Middle Dutch graft (“digging, ditch, canal, trench”) (modern Dutch gracht), related to Dutch graven (“to dig”), English grave (“to dig”).
noun grifts
-
A confidence game or swindle.
Hey, what's the grift? What are you trying to pull?
Similar: deception, imposition, hype, deceit, dupery, fiddle, fetch, hocus-pocus, jugglery, legerdemain, list, mislead
verb grifts · grifting · grifted
- To obtain illegally, as by con game.
- To obtain money illegally.
- To obtain money immorally or through deceitful means.
Translations
Every language
verb to obtain (money) illegally, as by con game
| Español | estafa, fraude, timo, engaño |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | erschwindeln |
Talk about this word "grift." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/grift. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. grift. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/grift "grift." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/grift.Cite this
@misc{grift_2026,
title = {grift},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/grift},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
