short-change
/'ʃɔ:t,tʃeindʤ/
Học thuậtThân thiện
The cashier tried to short-change the customer by giving back too little money.
Definition
- Verb:
- To give someone less money than they are owed, especially as change from a purchase: The core meaning involves a transactional deception where a seller or cashier intentionally returns an incorrect, smaller amount of money to a customer.
- To treat someone unfairly by not giving them what they deserve or have paid for: A figurative extension meaning to cheat or deprive someone of a rightful benefit, service, or outcome.
Usage and Examples
Literal Financial Context:
- I think the cashier short-changed me; I should have gotten five dollars back.
- Always count your change to ensure you don't get short-changed.
Figurative Context (deprivation of fair treatment):
- The rushed tour short-changed the visitors, as they missed half the exhibits.
- Students are short-changed when schools lack proper resources.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- The term often implies a deliberate, though sometimes careless, act of cheating, not merely an honest mistake.
- It can be used in passive voice ("be short-changed") to emphasize the victim's experience.
- Commonly applied in critiques of services, policies, or systems that deliver less than promised.
Variants and Related Words
- Short-change artist (n): (Informal) A person who habitually short-changes others.
- Short-changing (gerund/n): The act or practice of short-changing.
Synonyms
- Cheat: To act dishonestly or unfairly to gain an advantage.
- Defraud: To illegally obtain money from someone by deception.
- Swindle: To use deception to deprive someone of money or possessions.
- Rip off: (Informal) To cheat someone, especially financially.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Idioms
- To be short-changed: An idiomatic usage meaning to receive less than what was expected, deserved, or paid for.
- Fans felt short-changed by the band's very short concert.
The cashier tried to short-change the customer by giving back too little money.
Verb
- 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
- cheat someone by not returning him enough money