To be unfaithful to a romantic partner, or to use dishonest methods during a test or exam.
To secretly do something bad that breaks the rules or hurts someone who trusts you — like kissing another person when you have a boyfriend or girlfriend, or copying answers on a test.
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To be sexually or romantically unfaithful to a romantic partner.
"She found out he had been cheating on her for almost a year before she confronted him."
"I cheated on my fiancée, and I'm not proud of it."
— Tiger Woods, public apology statement, February 2010
To act dishonestly or break rules during an exam, test, or game.
"Three students were caught cheating on the final exam and received failing grades."
To cheat while 'on' (i.e., during or against) something — the preposition anchors the betrayal to a specific relationship or event.
To secretly do something bad that breaks the rules or hurts someone who trusts you — like kissing another person when you have a boyfriend or girlfriend, or copying answers on a test.
Very commonly used in both the romantic-betrayal sense and the academic-dishonesty sense. The romantic sense is the more emotionally loaded of the two. Neutral to informal in register; not considered slang.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "cheat on" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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