bunco

bun·co

also bun·ko  (bŭng′kō)Informal

n. pl. bun·cos also bun·kos

A swindle in which an unsuspecting person is cheated; a confidence game.

tr.v. bun·coed, bun·co·ing, bun·cos also bun·koed or bun·ko·ing or bun·kos

To swindle.

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[Probably alteration of Spanish banca, card game, from Italian banca, bank, of Germanic origin; see bank².]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bunco

(ˈbʊŋkəʊ) or

bunko

n, pl -cos or -kos

a swindle, esp one by confidence tricksters

vb, -cos, -coing, -coed, -kos, -koing or -koed

(tr) to swindle; cheat

[C19: perhaps from Spanish banca bank (in gambling), from Italian banca bank¹]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bun•ko

or bun•co

(ˈbʌŋ koʊ)

n., pl. -kos or -cos, n.

1. a swindle in which a person is cheated at gambling, persuaded to buy a nonexistent or worthless object, or otherwise victimized.

v.t.

2. to victimize by a bunko.

[1880–85; shortened form of bunkum; compare -o]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

bunco

Past participle: buncoed
Gerund: buncoing

Imperative

bunco

bunco

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	bunco - a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property bunco game, bunko, bunko game, con game, confidence game, confidence trick, flimflam, hustle, con, sting sting operation - a complicated confidence game planned and executed with great care (especially an operation implemented by undercover agents to apprehend criminals) swindle, cheat, rig - the act of swindling by some fraudulent scheme; "that book is a fraud"
Verb	1.	bunco - deprive of by deceit; "He swindled me out of my inheritance"; "She defrauded the customers who trusted her"; "the cashier gypped me when he gave me too little change" con, defraud, diddle, goldbrick, hornswoggle, mulct, nobble, rook, scam, swindle, short-change, victimize short, short-change - cheat someone by not returning him enough money cheat, rip off, chisel - deprive somebody of something by deceit; "The con-man beat me out of $50"; "This salesman ripped us off!"; "we were cheated by their clever-sounding scheme"; "They chiseled me out of my money"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

Translations

bunco

n pl <buncos> (US inf) (= trick) → Bauernfängerei f; (= swindle) → Betrug m, → Schwindel m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007