student asking question

What does "cheat system" mean? and could you give me some synonyms?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

To "cheat the system" means to find ways to break the rules and get ahead faster. In the video here, this refers to breaking the rules of the game and skipping ahead to the top spot where Buzz Lightyear can go home first. In other cases, "cheat the system" does not always refer to a game, but it can also mean to cheat government laws, or get ahead in something where there are rules. You can also use the expression "work the system", or the verb "scam" which both have very similar meanings to "cheat the system". Ex: Politicians like to cheat the system any way they can to get ahead. Ex: He uses his mother's handicap tag to cheat the system and park in the handicapped parking spot.

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