Definition of "embezzle" [em•bez•zle]

• To take (money, for example) for one's own use in violation of a trust. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Further down the translator appears to have mislaid the word embezzle:"
• "I'm going to give to agencies at the local level that don't slice off a goodly amount for "administrative fees" and have little opportunity to "embezzle" the money."
• "Are you saying that Socialism/Welfare states don't defraud, mislead, and embezzle?"