Fagin

American  

[fey-gin] / ˈfeɪ gɪn /

noun

1. (in Dickens'Oliver Twist ) a villainous old man who trains and uses young boys as thieves.

2. Also fagin. a person who teaches crime to others.

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Fagin Cultural  

1. A villain in the novel Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens. The unscrupulous, miserly Fagin teaches Oliver Twist and other orphaned boys to pick pockets and steal for him.

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Example Sentences

It said Friday that Steven Fagin, the U.S. ambassador to Yemen, will serve as the civilian lead at the center.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 26, 2025

Fagin has long experience in the Middle East.

From Barron's • Oct. 24, 2025

I first heard about ICEBlock through various posts by former Rosenbergs front man David Fagin, who has been raising awareness on behalf of his onetime bandmate.

From Slate • May 16, 2025

Flanagan at Largo — who owns Largo — he’s the reason I love L.A. and he sort of took me in, I think of him like Fagin in “Oliver.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2025

“All right,” says Ms. Albright, “Dodger has just befriended Oliver, and he’s bringing him back to the hideout for the first time to meet Fagin and the boys. So. What’s your objective?”

From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli