cheat
- 01 B1 Intermediate
v.to break the rules of a game, exam, or competition to win or get a better result.
v.to violate established rules or standards in order to gain an unfair advantage, particularly in academic or competitive contexts.
Simple“He was caught trying to cheat on the history exam by looking at his phone.”
In context“The athlete was stripped of her gold medal after officials discovered she had cheated by using banned substances during training.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'on' for exams or 'at' for games.
PitfallHe cheated the exam. He cheated on the exam.When you break rules during a test, use the preposition 'on'.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to have a secret romantic relationship with someone who is not your husband, wife, or partner.
v.to engage in a sexual or romantic relationship with someone other than one's established partner in violation of a commitment.
Simple“She decided to leave him after she found out he was cheating on her.”
In context“The tabloid newspapers were filled with rumours that the famous actor had been cheating on his spouse with a co-star.”
UsageUsually takes the preposition 'on' followed by the partner's name.
Synonymsbetraybe unfaithfulAntonymsbe faithful - 03 C1 Advanced
v.to narrowly avoid something bad that seemed certain to happen.
v.to escape or avoid a seemingly inevitable negative outcome through luck or skill.
Simple“The driver cheated death when his car stopped just inches from the cliff edge.”
In context“The mountain climber has cheated death on several occasions, surviving avalanches and extreme equipment failures.”
UsageCommonly found in the fixed idiom 'cheat death'.
Teacher's tipThis is a more dramatic, literary use of the word; in everyday speech, 'narrowly escaped' is more common.
- 04 B1 Intermediate
n.a person who acts dishonestly to win or get an advantage.
n.a person who behaves dishonestly or violates rules for personal gain.
Simple“Nobody wanted to play cards with him because he was a known cheat.”
In context“The committee labelled him a cheat and a fraud after the financial discrepancies were brought to light.”
- 05 B1 Intermediate
n.a secret code or trick used to make a video game easier.
n.a hidden command or programmed shortcut that allows a player to bypass standard game mechanics.
Simple“I used a cheat to get infinite lives so I could finally finish the last level.”
In context“The developer included several cheats in the game's code to help testers navigate the environment more quickly.”
UsageOften used as 'cheat code' or 'a cheat'.
Synonymscheat codeexploit
Inherited from Middle English acheten, variant of escheten, from Old French escheoiter, from the noun (see below). Displaced native Old English beswīcan.
Inherited from Middle English chete, an aphetic form of eschete (“the reversion of property to the state”), from Old French eschet, escheit, escheoit (“that which falls to one”), from the past participle of escheoir (“to fall”) (modern French échoir), from Vulgar Latin *excadēre, from Latin ex- + cadere (“fall”).
Inherited from Middle English chet (“low-quality bread”), of unknown origin; compare manchet.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.