Meaning & use
shill
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Meanings
nouncountabledisapproving
A person who pretends to be an independent fan or customer while secretly working for the seller, in order to deceive others.
Grammar: Always critical; calling someone a shill accuses them of dishonesty.
Patterns
- a shill for something
The auctioneer used a shill to push the bidding higher.
Critics called the reviewer a paid shill for the brand.
The gambler turned out to be a shill planted by the casino.
verbtransitive or intransitiveinformaldisapproving
To promote or endorse something dishonestly, usually for hidden payment or personal gain.
Grammar: Often with for: shill for a company.
Patterns
- shill for someone
- shill something
He was accused of shilling for the energy industry.
Influencers were shilling the supplement without saying they were paid.
She refuses to shill products she does not use.
Word forms
| plural | shills |
|---|---|
| third person singular | shills |
| past tense | shilled |
| -ing form | shilling |
Common combinations
- paid shill
- The site was full of paid shills posting praise.
- shill for
- He would never shill for a political party.
- corporate shill
- Critics dismissed him as a corporate shill.
- shill a product
- Celebrities shill a product on social media.
- accused of being a shill
- She was accused of being a shill for the company.
Synonyms and how they differ
- plant
- A plant is anyone secretly placed in a group, while a shill specifically helps a sale or scheme.
- stooge
- A stooge is someone used by others, often a fool, and not necessarily in selling.
- promoter
- A promoter is neutral and open about their role, unlike a shill, who hides it.
- mouthpiece
- A mouthpiece speaks for another, but not always dishonestly.
Opposites
Word family
- shilling noun
- the activity of acting as a shill
- shillery noun
- a rare term for deceptive promotion
Commonly confused: shill or shilling?
shill vs shilling
A shilling was a British coin, which is a different word despite sharing letters with the -ing form of shill.
Practice
The reviewer was accused of being a ___ because she never mentioned that the company paid her.
Choose one answer.
A shill promotes something while hiding a paid link. A skeptic would doubt it and the others do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “shill”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.