Meaning & use
grifting
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“grifting” is a form of “grift”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitiveinformalslang
Cheating people out of money through lies and tricks, usually in small, repeated schemes.
Grammar: Often has no object: he made a living grifting; with an object it names the victim or sum.
Patterns
- grift for a living
- grift someone out of something
He spent his twenties grifting his way across the country.
The pair were grifting tourists with a fake charity.
She was arrested for grifting elderly neighbors.
verbintransitiveinformaldisapproving
Making money in a dishonest or exploitative way, as by selling worthless products to a trusting audience.
Grammar: A newer, broader use, often about online influencers and sellers: they are grifting.
Patterns
- accused of grifting
Critics accused the influencer of grifting with fake miracle cures.
He was grifting on social media by selling bogus courses.
Some people see the whole scheme as grifting.
Word forms
| base form | grift |
|---|---|
| third person singular | grifts |
| past tense | grifted |
| -ing form | grifting |
Common combinations
- grifting scheme
- Police broke up a grifting scheme.
- grifting for a living
- He had been grifting for a living for years.
- accused of grifting
- The speaker was accused of grifting.
- online grifting
- Online grifting preys on trust.
- grifting con
- The grifting con ended with an arrest.
Synonyms and how they differ
- swindling
- Swindling is more general for cheating of money, and does not suggest the small-time lifestyle grifting does.
- conning
- Conning stresses winning someone's trust before cheating them, which is what grifting often involves.
- scamming
- Scamming is the modern general term, and covers online fraud as well.
- hustling
- Hustling can be honest hard work, whereas grifting is always dishonest.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: grifting or drifting?
grifting vs drifting
Drifting means moving slowly without direction, and is not about fraud, though the sound is close.
Practice
The detective explained that the man had been ____ elderly people with a false charity for years.
Choose one answer.
Grifting means cheating people out of money through deception. Gifting and lifting do not mean fraud, and drifting means moving aimlessly.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “grifting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.