Thesaurus results for BILKS

bilks 1 of 2

noun

plural of bilk

as in cheats

a dishonest person who uses clever means to cheat others out of something of value people who lost money in the scheme discovered that the investment company was a fake and the "owner" just a bilk

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bilks

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of bilk

as in plucks

to rob by the use of trickery or threats an investigation revealed that the garage had been bilking motorists for repairs that had never been made

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of bilks

Noun

Fake invoices, bilks ‘restricted funds’ Jackson and court records show Gatlin approved hundreds of invoices for services and items that were never provided to the Foundation. — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bilks

Noun

Democrats passed significant funding for the IRS to go after wealthy tax cheats, which was repealed by Republicans.

— WCCO Staff, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
The Trasks encounter a wide swath of citizens, haggling with sneaky cheats, exploiting innocent fools, and befriending big-hearted neighbors.

— Ben Travers, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of cheats

Verb

Trump sometimes plucks memes from a sprawling ecosystem of online conservative supporters, and sometimes his government staff produces them as part of their official messaging.

— Josh Boak, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
His torso and thighs grow eye-poppingly muscular beneath their skimpy fur-and-leather togs—a development that does not go unnoticed by a warrior named Red Hair, who plucks the young hunk from his post and tosses him into the prime time of the gladiator pit.

— Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 15 June 2026

Definition of plucks

Noun

The White House is now cracking down on these tariff dodgers.

— Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026
Ukraine faces severe personnel shortages with around 200,000 military desertions and 2 million draft-dodgers, threatening its ability to sustain the war against Russia’s 2022 invasion.

— Kirsten Grieshaber, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026

Definition of dodgers

Verb

But as the Iran war squeezes Republicans ahead of the midterms, Democrats are aligning to call for the defense secretary’s ouster or resignation.

— Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2026
That wrestling match itself, however, makes for compelling theater about as often as the camel squeezes through the needle.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of squeezes

Noun

Among the diverse habitats are a salt marsh that serves as a nursery for leopard sharks and bat rays as well as kelp forests frequented by harbor seals and wrasses.

— Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
Six sharks received cortisol implants dissolved in coconut oil, while six others received coconut oil alone.

— Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of sharks

Verb

Jessica Gonzalez hustles behind her booth at the recent Renegade Craft Fair, frantically ringing up sales, answering questions and packaging her beeswax candles.

— Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Despite concerns that chip stocks could be topping out as the industry hustles to boost supply, Wall Street thinks Micron still has plenty of room to run.

— Tobias Burns, CNBC, 22 June 2026

Definition of hustles

Noun

The decade ended tumultuously, with the Osmond family’s fortune drained by a series of swindlers and grifters.

— Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2026
This scam, according to Kent, could be proliferated with the use of AI, which can allow swindlers to enroll in many different college programs at once.

— Peter D'Abrosca, FOXNews.com, 21 Jan. 2026

Definition of swindlers

Verb

Clement famously tried to get the Supreme Court to overturn President Obama's signature health care law, a loss that still stings.

— Carrie Johnson, NPR, 14 Oct. 2026
General Mills spun off Darden Restaurants in 1995, and then Darden sold Red Lobster in 2014, in a deal with the private equity firm Golden Gate Capital that still stings many veterans to this day.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of stings

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bilking

bilks

bill

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“Bilks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bilks. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of bilks

noun

verb

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