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crook

crook

153 3.9
A dishonest person who cheats or steals
  • noun
  • /krʊk/
  • Offensive
: delincuente
  • The detective worked tirelessly to catch the notorious crook who had been stealing from local businesses.
  • white-collar crook

You know my point out also, the rich were crooks, Entrepreneurs were crooks.

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Examples

  • Lou told me you know everybody in New York, Bernzy: all the crooks and all the cops...

    Fiction book (1992)
  • If Blagojevich was such a crook, he demanded, why was he broke?

    Academic text (2011)
  • You see, not everyone is just a crook like you.

  • But we know what a crook he is.

  • No, I'm a crook for life.

  • The next day I'm the biggest crook that the country has ever seen.

  • Are you writing a book or are you catching a crook?

  • A liar and a crook.

  • So it's not just crooks, bad people that choose to cross the line.

  • These people are just crooks.

Synonyms

criminal
vscrook
∞ 2.1

A person who has committed a crime or broken the law

is broader in tone meaning any dishonest person whether convicted or not
thief
vscrook
754 1.0

A person who takes someone else's things without permission

is the general dishonest criminal idea that also includes fraudsters
rogue
vscrook
129 5.9

A person who behaves badly or dishonestly yet is often liked by others

is the general dishonest criminal concept not implying charm or likability
cheater
vscrook
  • Offensive
112 2.6

A person who breaks the rules or lies to get an advantage

is a general dishonest criminal who may steal or commit other crimes
cheat
vscrook
  • Offensive
55 2.6

A person who acts dishonestly to gain an unfair advantage

is a broader dishonest criminal not limited to rule breaking acts
scoundrel
vscrook
  • Offensive
51 6.5

A person who behaves dishonestly and hurts others by lying or stealing

is the general criminal term focused on lawbreaking rather than moral failing
con man
vscrook
47 4.7

A person who tricks people by gaining their trust to get their money

is a broader dishonest criminal term beyond trust based trickery
con artist
vscrook
40 4.8

A person who tricks people by gaining their trust to take their money or valuables

is broader and may include other types of dishonest criminals
scammer
vscrook
  • NSFW
20 4.0

A person who tricks others to take their money or things

is the wider term for dishonest criminals beyond scams
grifter
vscrook
  • Slang
16 9.1

A person who tricks others to get their money or things

is a broader dishonest criminal term not limited to confidence tricks
evildoer
vscrook
15 7.5

A person who does bad things to hurt other people

is the broader criminal label emphasizing specific dishonest acts like theft
swindler
vscrook
15 5.4

A person who tricks people to take their money

is more general covering dishonest criminals beyond money fraud
shyster
vscrook
  • Offensive
14 9.9

A person, often a lawyer or politician, who acts dishonestly to get what they want

is the broader dishonest criminal term not tied to professions
knave
vscrook
  • Offensive
14 9.9

A dishonest person who tricks or harms other people

is the broader criminal idea covering legal guilt beyond immorality
stealer
vscrook
4 4.6

A person who takes things that belong to others without permission

is the broader dishonest person idea that may use other crimes
malefactor
vscrook
3 8.8

A person who breaks the law or does something wrong

is the general dishonest person label used beyond formal legal terms
carny
vscrook
  • Offensive
3 9.2

A person who tricks others to get their money

is a standard dishonest criminal term not limited to informal situations
larcenist
vscrook
  • Archaic
1 9.2

A person who steals things

is broader naming dishonest criminals beyond those who steal
defrauder
vscrook
  • Formal
1 7.9

A person who gets money by lying to or tricking people

is a general dishonest criminal who may act without fraud
conniver
vscrook
  • Formal
1 8.4

A person who secretly plans and helps with illegal actions

is the broader dishonest person idea who may act alone or openly
rooker
vscrook
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who cheats others to get money or things

is the modern general term for a dishonest criminal rather than archaic wording
bamboozler
vscrook
  • Informal
1 7.8

A person who tricks or cheats people, often as a joke

is the wider dishonest criminal concept that covers serious fraud
purloiner
vscrook
9.6

A person who steals things secretly

is a more general dishonest criminal label including other types of wrongdoing
larcener
vscrook
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who illegally takes other people's things

is the general dishonest criminal term that also covers non theft acts
cozener
vscrook
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who tricks people to get their money or things

is a more general term for dishonest criminals not only tricksters
diddler
vscrook
  • Offensive
8.6

A person who cheats others to get small amounts of money

is the broader dishonest criminal idea that can include major crimes
swizz
vscrook
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who tricks others to take their money

is the general dishonest criminal label used beyond slang or informal uses
boodler
vscrook
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who takes money unfairly by accepting bribes

is the more general dishonest criminal label without political focus

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

Truthful and fair, not cheating or lying

63 3.4

Following the law and not breaking rules

Idioms

1 8.1

Using any way to get something done no matter what it takes

Compounds

two-bit crook
  • Offensive
1 7.9

A person who steals or tricks people in small, unimportant ways

A long stick with a hooked end used to guide and catch sheep

How Dishonest

felon
  • US
175 5.5
crook
  • Offensive
153 3.9
criminal
∞ 2.1

Surface Forms

crook singular
crooks plural

Etymology

Crook meaning a dishonest person comes from the same old word krókr, which meant 'hook' or 'bend'. A helpful way to remember it is to think of someone 'crooked', not straight in their behaviour, so a crook is a person who cheats.