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Glite Dictionary
pump-and-dump scheme

pump-and-dump scheme

1 9.5
A plan that uses false news to raise a stock price and sell shares, leaving other investors with losses
  • noun
  • /pʌmp ənd dʌmp skiːm/
  • Jargon
translation icon : esquema de pump-and-dump
  • In a typical pump-and-dump scheme, promoters exaggerate a company's potential to attract buyers before selling their own shares.

And should you start your own pump and dump scheme as a side gig?

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Examples

  • OK, So did he just admit to a pump and dump scheme for his followers, for all of the shareholders?

    I've Had It

  • And should you start your own pump and dump scheme as a side gig?

    Patrick Boyle

  • The company's sudden rise in stock price was a result of a pump-and-dump scheme that misled many investors.

  • Investigators uncovered a complex pump-and-dump scheme that had defrauded numerous unsuspecting shareholders.

Synonyms

get-rich-quick scheme
vspump-and-dump scheme
1 4.6

A dishonest plan that promises to make you rich quickly with little work

is an illegal plan that inflates market prices to sell owned shares
fraudulent scheme
vspump-and-dump scheme
1 6.3

An illegal plan to get money by tricking people

is a specific scheme that inflates stock prices to sell owned shares

Antonyms

long-term investment
8 3.9

Money put away to grow for more than a year

Surface Forms

pump-and-dump scheme singular
pump-and-dump schemes plural

Morphology

pump-and-dump + scheme

The constituents 'pump' (to inflate), 'dump' (to unload/dispose) and 'scheme' (a plan) give a metaphorical clue that something is being inflated then unloaded, but the phrase refers to a specific illegal stock‑market manipulation that requires domain knowledge. A B1 learner who knows the words might infer a vague sense of 'inflate then sell off' but would not reliably derive the full financial/illegal meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

The noun pump-and-dump scheme comes from a simple image: scammers pump up a stock's price by spreading false news, then dump their shares by selling them quickly. That's why it means an illegal plan to 'raise' a price and then 'sell', leaving other investors with losses.