embezzle
verb
Did you know?
English is full of verbs that mean “to steal” (such as pilfer, rob, swipe, plunder, filch, and thieve). But when it comes to stealing property (and in this context, money is a kind of property) that has been entrusted to you, embezzle wins the prize. The word most often refers to theft of company or government funds that one has charge of, and embezzlement is therefore a hallmark of white-collar crime—that is, crime committed by so-called “white-collar” workers. In the 15th century, around the time that embezzlement entered English (the ultimate root is Anglo-French besiller “to steal, plunder”), it would have also been possible to say that such plunderers “bezzled” company cash, but bezzle is now considered obsolete.
Examples of embezzle in a Sentence
Reuters, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
Sobs of relief broke out in a federal courtroom in Kansas on Monday as dozens of people whose life savings had been embezzled by a bank CEO learned that federal law enforcement had recovered their money.
—Martha Mendoza, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2024
Not far away in the 1,500-person community of Zeigler, City Treasurer Ryan Thorpe — whose duties also included being dog catcher — was elected in 2013 and soon launched into a four-year scheme embezzling $321,399.22.
—Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2024
In a lawsuit pending in Los Angeles Superior Court, Shangri-La has accused its former CFO, Cody Holmes, of embezzling housing money and spending it on personal extravagances, including tickets to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, jewelry and rent for a Beverly Hills mansion.
—Anna Scott, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Embezzle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/embezzle. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
embezzle
verb
Legal Definition
embezzle
transitive verb
Anglo-French embeseiller to make away with, from en-, prefix stressing completion + beseller to snatch, misappropriate, from Old French, to destroy
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