Definition of "grift"

grift

/ɡɹɪft/

noun
plural grifts
1. (US, slang) A confidence game or swindle.
  Quotations
  ‘Sounds like he’s trying to stretch out his grift for as long as possible,’ Gentle said. ‘Taking as much from his followers as he can before it falls apart.’
  2022, Paul McAuley, Beyond the Burn Line, Gollancz, page 172
verb
third-person singular simple present grifts, present participle grifting, simple past and past participle grifted
1. (transitive, US, slang) To obtain illegally, as by con game.
2. (intransitive, US, slang) To obtain money illegally.
3. (intransitive, US, slang) To obtain money immorally or through deceitful means.