English has a lot of verbs that mean "to steal," including pilfer, rob, swipe, plunder, filch, and thieve. Embezzle differs from these by stressing the improper appropriation of property to which a person is entrusted—often in the form of company funds. First appearing in English in the 15th century, embezzle derives via Middle English from the Anglo-French embesiller, meaning "to make away," formed from the prefix en- and the verb besiller, meaning "to steal or plunder." Related to embezzle is bezzle, a verb used in some British English dialects to mean "to waste or plunder" or "to drink or eat to excess."
Example Sentences
He was caught embezzling money from his clients. He was convicted of embezzling.
Recent Examples on the WebProsecutors investigating graft allegations last week accused her of conspiring to embezzle public funds taking bribes in exchange for lucrative state projects during her eight-year tenure as president, starting in 2007. Silvina Frydlewsky And Kejal Vyas, WSJ, 2 Sep. 2022 Simon is then arrested for attempting to embezzle funds from his own company. Jacob Siegal, BGR, 30 Aug. 2022 He was accused of isolating Lee from family and friends to embezzle art, cash and other assets valued at more than $5 million. Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 July 2022 The allegations came to light in 2018 when Ericsson auditors began scrutinizing suspicious expense reports filed by one of its Iraq managers who had used the same supplier, SLS, to embezzle $308,000, the internal report said. Greg Miller And Louisa Loveluck, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Feb. 2022 A month later, the pair was sued for allegedly using the split to embezzle money and have since faced a slew of other legal controversies, after he was accused of defrauding other clients. Glenn Garner, PEOPLE.com, 18 Feb. 2022 A month later, the pair were sued for allegedly using the split to embezzle money and have since faced a slew of other legal controversies. Lanae Brody, PEOPLE.com, 16 Feb. 2022 That investigation has led to charges against 15 of the bank’s former officers, employees, and customers alleging a scheme to embezzle million of dollars by issuing bad loans with little or no collateral and falsifying records to cover it up. Jason Meisner, chicagotribune.com, 14 Jan. 2022 Luna and his mother, Alma Yanira Meza Olivares, also allegedly put in motion a scheme to embezzle millions of dollars from the prison system and were stealing pandemic relief supplies and then re-selling them to the government. Christopher Sherman, ajc, 8 Dec. 2021 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English embesilen, from Anglo-French embesiller to make away with, from en- + besiller to steal, plunder