grift

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 6, 2022 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>grift</strong> &#149; \GRIFT\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><em>Grift</em> means "to obtain money <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illicitly">illicitly</a>."</p> <p>// The email scammer <em>grifted</em> thousands of dollars.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grift">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"The lovelorn were <em>grifted</em> 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, <em>The New York Post</em>, 13 Feb. 2022</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>A <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grifter">grifter</a></em> might be a pickpocket, a crooked gambler, scammer, or a <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confidence%20man">confidence man</a>. <em>Grift</em> may have come from <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/graft#h4">graft</a></em>, a slightly older word meaning "to acquire dishonestly."</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>