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estafar

to defraud

verb es-tah-FAHR Rare
People & Society Crime

Origin: Italian staffare (to lose the stirrup)

Also means

to swindle

Usage Note

Estafar implies obtaining money or goods through deception — le estafaron mil euros (they swindled a thousand euros out of him). The related noun estafa (fraud, scam) is very frequent in news headlines. Estafar typically involves deliberate deception rather than force, distinguishing it from robar (to steal).

Examples

"Lo estafaron con un contrato falso."

Natural Translation

They defrauded him with a fake contract.

Literal Translation

Him they-defrauded with a contract fake.

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