embezzle

English

Etymology

1469, from Anglo-Norman embesiler (“to steal, cause to disappear”) (1305), from Old French besillier (“torment, destroy, gouge”), of unknown origin.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA: /əmˈbɛzəl/
• Rhymes: -ɛzəl

Verb

embezzle (third-person singular simple present embezzles, present participle embezzling, simple past and past participle embezzled)

1. (law, business) To steal or misappropriate money that one has been trusted with, especially to steal money from one's employer.
   • 1903, H.G. Wells, Twelve Stories and a Dream

     You waste your education in burglary. You should do one of two things. Either you should forge or you should embezzle. For my own part, I embezzle.

   • 1861, George Eliot, Silas Marner

     You let Dunsey have it, sir? And how long have you been so thick with Dunsey that you must collogue with him to embezzle my money?

Synonyms

• defalcate
• misappropriate
• peculate

Derived terms

• embezzler
• embezzlement

Translations

to steal money that one has been trusted with

Bulgarian: злоупотребявам (bg) Finnish: kavaltaa (fi) French: divertir (fr), détourner (fr) German: unterschlagen (de) Hebrew: מעל (he) (ma'ál)

Hungarian: sikkaszt (hu) Polish: sprzeniewierzyć (pl) Spanish: malversar (es)