Word
welch
US/ˈwɛɫtʃ/
UK/wˈɛltʃ/
Definitions
01to break a promise or debt
v. to not pay back a debt or to fail to do something you promised to do.
v. to fail to honour a debt or a commitment, particularly in a casual or dishonest manner.
“He tried to welch on his bet after his team lost the game.”
“The contractor attempted to welch on the agreement once he realised the material costs had exceeded his initial estimate.”
Informal
Usage
Usually takes the preposition 'on' before the object.
Pitfall
He welched the deal.
He welched on the deal.
The verb is usually followed by the preposition 'on' when specifying the obligation being broken.
Teaching tip
This word can be considered offensive by some due to its historical association with 'Welsh' people; 'renege' or 'back out' are safer professional alternatives.
02a person who doesn't pay
n. someone who does not pay back a small debt or keep a promise.
n. a person who defaults on an obligation or fails to pay a small debt.
“Nobody wanted to lend him money because he had a reputation as a welch.”
“In the tight-knit gambling community, being labelled a welch is enough to get a person permanently barred from the tables.”
Informal
Teaching tip
The spelling 'welsher' is more common for the noun form in many dialects.
Synonyms
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English Welich, variant of Walsch, from Old English welisc, wīelisċ, from Proto-West Germanic walhisk, from Proto-Germanic walhiskaz.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/welch