cheat on

Meaning

To 'cheat on' someone means to be sexually or emotionally unfaithful to your romantic partner, spouse, or significant other. It implies breaking the trust of a committed relationship by secretly dating or sleeping with another person. This expression carries a highly negative and hurtful connotation.

Examples

• He decided to end the relationship after he found out she was cheating on him.

  He decided to end the relationship after he found out she was cheating on him.

• I can't believe Liam would cheat on his wife after ten years of marriage.

  I can't believe Liam would cheat on his wife after ten years of marriage.

• She was devastated when she discovered that her boyfriend had been cheating on her with her best friend.

  She was devastated when she discovered that her boyfriend had been cheating on her with her best friend.

• If you're not happy in your relationship, just break up instead of cheating on your partner.

  If you're not happy in your relationship, just break up instead of cheating on your partner.

• He admitted to cheating on his girlfriend once, but he promised it would never happen again.

  He admitted to cheating on his girlfriend once, but he promised it would never happen again.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ He cheated his girlfriend with someone else.

  ✓ He cheated on his girlfriend with someone else.

  Learners often omit the preposition 'on'. To 'cheat someone' means to trick or defraud them of money, whereas to 'cheat on someone' refers to romantic infidelity.

• ✗ She cheated with her husband last year.

  ✓ She cheated on her husband last year.

  Using 'with' instead of 'on' completely changes the meaning. You cheat 'on' your partner (the victim) 'with' someone else (the new person).

• ✗ He made a cheat on her.

  ✓ He cheated on her.

  Learners sometimes try to use 'cheat' as a noun phrase with 'make' or 'do'. In English, we use 'cheat on' directly as a phrasal verb.

Related Expressions

Practice

• I would never ___ my partner because trust is the most important thing to me.

  💡 Use the base form of the phrasal verb.

  Show answer

  cheat on

• Did you hear that Sarah broke up with Mark because he was ___ her?

  💡 You need the -ing form of the verb here.

  Show answer

  cheating on

• It takes a long time to heal after someone you love decides to ___ you.

  💡 This two-word phrasal verb means to be unfaithful.

  Show answer

  cheat on