1. Appropriate (as property entrusted to one's care) fraudulently to one's own use
   "The accountant peculated thousands of dollars while working for the wealthy family";
   - embezzle, defalcate, misappropriate, malversate [archaic]

Derived forms: peculated, peculates, peculating

Type of: rip [N. Amer, informal], rip off [informal], steal

Encyclopedia: Peculate