Phrasal verb
cheat out of
Definition
phrasal verb. to use dishonest or unfair methods to take something away from someone.
phrasal verb. to deprive someone of a possession, right, or opportunity through deception or fraudulent means; a transitive three-part phrasal verb.
Examples
“The dishonest salesman tried to cheat her out of her savings.”
“He felt his business partner had cheated him out of his fair share of the profits.”
“The investigation revealed that the corporation had systematically cheated thousands of elderly investors out of their retirement funds through a complex shell company scheme.”
Examples
simple
“The dishonest salesman tried to cheat her out of her savings.”
contextual
“He felt his business partner had cheated him out of his fair share of the profits.”
complex
“The investigation revealed that the corporation had systematically cheated thousands of elderly investors out of their retirement funds through a complex shell company scheme.”
Usage
the object is the person being deceived, followed by 'of' and the thing stolen.
Teaching tip
this is a three-part phrasal verb (verb + particle + preposition); emphasize that the victim is the direct object and the stolen item follows 'of'.
Pitfall
He cheated out of me my money.
He cheated me out of my money.
the person being cheated must come immediately after the verb 'cheat'.
Phrasal verb
Particles
out of
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
cheat + object + out + of + thing
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/cheat-out-of