noun
Ponzi
PON-zee
noun
1
A fraudulent investment scheme that pays existing investors with money from new investors, rather than real profit.
"Investigators uncovered a massive ponzi scheme that had run for a decade."
verb
1
To run a scam of this kind.
"He was accused of ponzi-ing investors out of millions."
How to Use Ponzi
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA scam where early investors are paid using money from later investors, until it collapses.
Common pairings
ponzi scheme
run a ponzi
Word Forms
Ponzied past tense, Ponzis plural, Ponzies plural, Ponzies singular
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Etymology
Named after Charles Ponzi (1882–1949), the con artist who made this type of fraud infamous.