Meaning & use
mountebank
Last updated
A person who deceives others, especially by making false claims or selling fraudulent goods; a charlatan.
See it in a sentence
The traveling mountebank sold bottles of "miracle tonic" that cured nothing at all.
Voters eventually saw through the mountebank's empty promises.
A note on using this word
Historically referred to peddlers who stood on a bench in public markets to sell fake medicine, hence the word's origin ("mount a bank").
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