welch
v.v. to fail to pay a debt or keep a promise. You use this when someone avoids doing what they agreed to do, especially in a bet.
v. to evade an obligation or fail to pay a debt, particularly in the context of gambling. Often carries a derogatory or offensive tone due to its historical origins.
He tried to welch on the bet after his team lost.
The contractor decided to welch on the agreement, leaving the homeowners with an unfinished kitchen and no refund.
In the high-stakes world of underground gambling, anyone who attempts to welch on a significant debt quickly finds themselves blacklisted from every reputable establishment in the city.
Inherited from Middle English Welich, variant of Walsch, from Old English welisc, wīelisċ, from Proto-West Germanic walhisk, from Proto-Germanic walhiskaz.
Intransitive; typically followed by the preposition 'on'.
he welched the debthe welched on the debtThe verb is intransitive and requires the preposition 'on' before the object of the obligation.