fraud

fraud — noun

1. the crime of lying or hiding the truth in order to take money, property, or othe

1.nounB2
Definition

the crime of lying or hiding the truth in order to take money, property, or other valuables from someone

Example

Eliska was arrested for credit card fraud after using a fake identity to open accounts.

collocation: credit card fraud

The company owner faces tax fraud charges for hiding millions in profits from the government.

collocation: tax fraud

Common collocations
  • commit fraud
  • credit card fraud
  • tax fraud
  • insurance fraud
  • benefit fraud
  • wire fraud
  • fraud investigation
  • fraud detection
  • fraud prevention
Synonyms
  • deception

    a broader term that covers any act of making someone believe something false, not necessarily illegal or for financial gain

  • scam

    a specific dishonest plan or scheme, often targeting individuals; more informal than fraud

  • trickery

    the use of tricks to deceive; often less serious and not always a crime

Antonyms
  • honesty

    the quality of being truthful and not deceiving others

Grammar Patterns

fraud (uncountable for the general crime)

a fraud (countable for a specific scheme)

Usage Note

Uncountable when referring to the general crime ('convicted of fraud'), but countable for a specific scheme ('it was a massive fraud'). Frequently used in compounds naming types of fraud: credit card fraud, tax fraud, benefit fraud, wire fraud.

Common Mistakes

The politician committed fraud by breaking his campaign promise.
The politician committed fraud by secretly using campaign donations for personal travel.
Fraud requires deliberate deception for financial or personal gain, not just breaking a promise.

2. a person who intentionally claims to have skills, knowledge, or a social status

2.nounB2
Definition

a person who intentionally claims to have skills, knowledge, or a social status that is not actually theirs, in order to gain money or the trust of others

Example

The man pretending to be a doctor was exposed as a fraud before treating patients.

Amani warned her neighbor the man claiming to be a bank inspector was a fraud.

collocation: a fraud (countable for a deceptive person)

Common collocations
  • a complete fraud
  • a total fraud
  • expose someone as a fraud
  • unmask a fraud
  • call someone a fraud
  • be a fraud
Synonyms
  • impostor

    more specific — someone who pretends to be another person; fraud is broader and can mean anyone who lies about their abilities or status

  • fake

    more informal; can refer to either a person or an object

  • charlatan

    someone who pretends to have special knowledge or skill, especially in medicine or finance; more formal and literary

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

a fraud (countable for a deceptive person)

Usage Note

Always a countable noun. Frequently appears as the object of exposure verbs: expose someone as a fraud, unmask a fraud, reveal someone to be a fraud.

Common Mistakes

He is a fraud because he does not like the same music as his friends.
He is a fraud because he claims to be a qualified doctor but never went to medical school.
Calling someone a fraud requires evidence of intentional deception for personal gain, not just a difference in taste or opinion.

3. something that disappoints people because it does not deliver the high quality,

3.nounC1
Definition

something that disappoints people because it does not deliver the high quality, usefulness, or benefit that was promised

Example

Customers complained the expensive skin cream was a fraud — it did nothing to remove wrinkles.

The so-called miracle machine that supposedly saved electricity was a fraud, according to consumer reports.

collocation: a fraud (countable for a disappointing thing)

Common collocations
  • a complete fraud
  • a total fraud
  • turn out to be a fraud
  • a fraud and a waste of money
  • called a fraud
Synonyms
  • rip-off

    more informal; something that costs too much for what it offers

  • fake

    something that is not genuine or original; slightly narrower in meaning

  • disappointment

    softer and more general; does not imply deliberate misleading

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

a fraud (countable for a disappointing thing)

Usage Note

Often used in reviews, consumer reports, and opinion writing. Frequently preceded by 'a complete' or 'a total' to emphasize the degree of disappointment. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense does not involve a crime — it expresses strong disappointment about a product, service, or claim.

Common Mistakes

My new phone battery died after three hours, so it is a fraud.
My new phone failed to last the ten hours advertised, so the battery life claim was a fraud.
Use 'fraud' for something that was explicitly promised but not delivered, not for any product with a defect.

Word family

  • fraudulent
    adjectiveB2
  • fraudulently
    adverbC1
  • defraud
    verbC1
  • fraudster
    nounC1
  • fraudulence
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Fraud is the broadest legal term for using lies or tricks to gain money or property. A scam is a specific dishonest scheme designed to commit fraud, often targeting individuals through fake offers or confidence tricks — it is more informal than fraud. Deception covers any act of making someone believe something false, but does not require financial gain and is not necessarily a crime. Forgery is a particular type of fraud that involves copying documents, signatures, or artworks to pass them off as real. Corruption refers to dishonest or unethical behavior by people in power, such as bribery, and may or may not involve fraud. For example, using a fake signature to cash someone else's check is both forgery and fraud, while saying 'this restaurant is great' when you have never eaten there is deception, but not fraud.

scam ↗deception ↗forgery ↗corruption ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • fraud case
  • fraud investigation
  • fraud allegation
  • fraud charge
  • fraud claim
  • fraud victim
  • fraud squad
  • fraudster

Adverbs

Phrases

  • be convicted of fraud
  • fall victim to fraud
  • commit fraud
  • expose fraud
  • uncover fraud
  • a complete fraud
  • a total fraud

Prepositions

  • against (fraud against)
  • in (fraud in the system)

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Fraud entered English in the 1300s from Old French 'fraude', which came from Latin 'fraus' meaning deceit, injury, or wrongdoing. The word has stayed close to its original meaning of intentional deception for personal gain for over seven hundred years.