The Merriam-Webster Word of the Day is grift. Read on for what it means, how it’s used, and more.

What It Means

Grift means “to obtain money illicitly.”

// The email scammer grifted thousands of dollars.

GRIFT In Context

“The lovelorn were grifted out of $547 million by dating-app scammers last year, a shocking 78% increase over the previous record $307 million in losses in 2020, according to the Federal Trade Commission.” — Kerry J. Byrne, The New York Post, 13 Feb. 2022

Did You Know?

A grifter might be a pickpocket, a crooked gambler, scammer, or a confidence man. Grift may have come from graft, a slightly older word meaning “to acquire dishonestly.”