Standard Lemma guide

rort

noun · verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ɹɔː(ɹ)t/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • homophone: wrought (non-rhotic)
  • rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)t

1

noun

Meaning 1

A scam or fraud, especially involving the misappropriation of public money or resources.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Australia, New-Zealand

Examples

  • 2008, Australian House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), page 4067, Not all of the projects were bad or rorts; the majority were no doubt valuable to their communities.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To cheat or defraud.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Australia, New-Zealand, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Probably a back-formation from rorty (“boisterous or rowdy, saucy, dissipated, or risqué”). Originally slang but now in common usage.