Embezzle

Pronunciation

• US IPA: /É™mˈbÉ›zÉ™l/
• Rhymes: -É›zÉ™l

Origin

1469, from Anglo-Norman embesiler ("to steal, cause to disappear") (1305), from Old French besillier ("torment, destroy, gouge"), of unknown origin.

Online Etymology Dictionary

Full definition of embezzle

Verb

1. (legal, business) To steal or misappropriate money that one has been trusted with, especially to steal money from the organisation for which one works.
• 1903, H.G. Wells, Twelve Stories and a DreamYou waste your education in burglary. You should do one of two things. Either you should forge or you should embezzle. For my own part, I embezzle.
• 1861, George Eliot, You let Dunsey have it, sir? And how long have you been so thick with Dunsey that you must collogue with him to embezzle my money?

Synonyms

• defalcate
• misappropriate
• peculate

Derived terms

• embezzler
• embezzlement