bezzle

Meanings

1. To plunder; to lay waste to, in riot.
2. To drink to excess; to revel.
3. To squander.

1. The level or proportion of financial sector activity that consists of hidden embezzlement, varying in step with the business cycle.
2. The time between when a confidence trickster has stolen money from an unsuspecting person and when that person realizes the money has been stolen.
3. The difference between the short-term or current market value of an asset and its true long-term worth.

Etymology

From Middle English besilen, from Old French besiler, besillier (“to mistreat, pillage”); or shortened from English embezzle.