Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A fraudulent business scheme; a swindle.
  • transitive verb To defraud; swindle.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Fraudulent deal.
  • verb To defraud or embezzle.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb deprive of by deceit
  • noun a fraudulent business scheme

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

US carnival slang. Possibly from scamp ("swindler, cheater")

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