graft
GRAFT
/ɡræft/
The acquisition of money or gain by dishonest, unfair, or illegal means, especially through political corruption.
Broadly refers to illegal gains squeezed from official positions or public funds.
The story behind the word. Originally a horticultural term meaning to insert a shoot into a tree branch. Political slang in 19th-century America adopted 'graft' to describe illegal profit attached onto legitimate public budgets like an illegitimate limb.
Word relationships
- corruption: Corruption is broader, whereas graft specifically focuses on illicit financial gain from office.
- pocketing: Informal term for taking money unlawfully.
- probity: Complete integrity and uprightness in public officials.
Commonly confused with
- embezzlement: Graft usually involves taking illicit cuts/skims from public deals, while embezzlement is direct theft of entrusted funds.
Word family
- grafter (noun): A corrupt politician or official who takes graft.
Collocations
- political graft
- systemic graft
- graft and corruption
- graft charges
Idioms & expressions
- lining one's pockets
Example sentences
- "19th-century political machines were famous for extracting graft from municipal construction budgets." Political History
- "The investigation uncovered millions in political graft tied to city council contracts." Journalism
Memory hook
GRAFT is an extra illegal branch GRAFTED onto public budgets. Illegitimate cuts attached to public funds.
When not to use
Do not confuse with the medical or botanical sense of joining living tissue.
Fun facts
- In British slang, 'graft' can actually mean hard work, whereas in American political English it strictly means corruption.
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