as in to cheat
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
had the feeling that I had just been thimblerigged by the sweetest-looking old lady
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in three-card monte
Related Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thimblerig
Verb
-
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported on the cheating epidemic that has overtaken schools and universities as students outsource their assignments to a chat bot.—
Peter Smagorinsky,
AJC.com,
30 Mar. 2026 -
An angler competing in a walleye derby on Saskatchewan’s Montreal Lake was kicked out of the ice-fishing tournament Saturday after being accused of cheating.—
Dac Collins,
Outdoor Life,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
War is three-card monte with Netanyahu as the dealer.—
Gershom Gorenberg,
The Atlantic,
18 Mar. 2026
-
The Moore administration has chosen the opposite approach, doubling down on spending while shuffling money around in a game of three-card monte.—
J.B. Jennings,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Skiers and snowboarders trying to squeeze the last bits of winter fun from Colorado‘s meager snowpack will have one less option after this week, with Vail Resort set to close 11 days sooner than planned.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
4 Apr. 2026
-
The disruption has not only sent fuel prices soaring, but has squeezed supplies of petrochemicals needed to make everyday items like shoes, clothing and plastic bags.—
Stephanie Yang,
CNN Money,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Consumers were then recruited to join a pyramid scheme that sold credit repair services to others, costing them millions.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
-
There’s, in fact, a lot of narrative chaos in the movie’s last third, from a pyramid scheme that ruins Junyang’s professional ego to the fact that Lydia, once she’s given birth, is basically cut out of the picture.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Somberness, as well as anger and sadness, color the majority of the songs plucked from Springsteen's vast catalog to underscore the reason for this 20-date tour.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
-
My niece requested an extra five minutes to say goodbye to the chickens and my nephew insisted on plucking just one more lemon from the yard.—
Lara Kramer,
Condé Nast Traveler,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The office of First Liberty Building and Loan, which federal officials allege was a Ponzi scheme, is shown on Thursday, July 10, 2025 in Newnan, Georgia.—
Madeline Montgomery,
CBS News,
1 Apr. 2026
-
The existence of the private independent school was plunged into uncertainty at the start of this month when bankers in Boston flagged potential fraud and lawsuits accused the school's founder of running it like a Ponzi scheme.—
Patrick Anderson,
The Providence Journal,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The dads and sons hustled to a nearby dirt patch.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Minnesota pulled even in the fourth when Byron Buxton hustled home on sacrifice fly by Josh Bell.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Often that game involved two rackets and a ball.—
Pablo Scheffer,
The New York Review of Books,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Now, using motions somewhat similar to those, your task is to see a tennis ball coming, and use your racket to hit it back over the net.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
19 Mar. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Thimblerig.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thimblerig. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
