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# The Good Oil Word of the Day
- URL: https://goodoil.news/the-good-oil-word-of-the-day-516/
- Published: 2026-01-09T17:15:43.000Z
- Updated: 2026-01-09T17:15:42.000Z
- Author: David Theobald
- Tags: General, Word of the Day

The word for today is…

grift (verb) -

: to acquire money or property illicitly

Source : [Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grift?ref=goodoil.news)

Etymology : Someone who grifts is a thief, but of a particular sort: they illegally obtain money or property by means of cleverness or deceit, and do not usually resort to physical force or violence. A grifter might be a pickpocket, a crooked gambler, a scammer, or a con artist. The most plausible etymology we have for the murky term is that grift is an early 20th century alteration of graft, a slightly older word which refers to the acquisition of money or property in dishonest or questionable ways. Both grift and graft have noun and verb forms.

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