Phrase guide

snake oil salesman

noun · 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

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A swindler or grifter who sells worthless or fraudulent remedies, cures, or solutions such as snake oil, often an aggressive or showy manner.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • She was dubbed a "modern day snake oil salesman" after she managed to swindle over thousands of internet customers.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bristler, bunco artist, bunco-steerer, chiseler, con artist, confidence artist, confidence trickster, conman, flimflammer, grifter, lugger, magsman, mountebank, saltimbanco, sharpster, sharker, shark-gull, slicker, smooth operator, spiv, charlatan, duper, fraud, fraudster, hustler, scammer, shyster, snake oil salesman, snake, swindler, trickster

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

One who deceives people in order to obtain money from others: fraud, scammer, charlatan, huckster, conman.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.