as in gangster
a person who gets money from another by using force or threats
the racketeer threatened to have his thugs vandalize the shop if the shopkeeper didn't pay him a monthly bribe
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in to blackmail
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of racketeer
San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2024
Three co-defendants accepted plea deals earlier this week on racketeering conspiracy charges and were sentenced to probation and time served.
—Spin Staff, SPIN, 31 Oct. 2024
Ira Trivedi, Foreign Affairs, 7 Aug. 2015
Parts of the city turned into wastelands of racketeers and alcoholics.
—Simon Shuster, TIME, 4 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for racketeer
Noun
And Connick learned firsthand about being a defendant: Federal prosecutors charged him in 1990 with racketeering and aiding a sports-betting operation.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2024
Three co-defendants accepted plea deals earlier this week on racketeering conspiracy charges and were sentenced to probation and time served.
—Spin Staff, SPIN, 31 Oct. 2024
Verb
She was arrested and charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, usually reserved for drug racketeers and smugglers running large operations.
—Ira Trivedi, Foreign Affairs, 7 Aug. 2015
Parts of the city turned into wastelands of racketeers and alcoholics.
—Simon Shuster, TIME, 4 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for racketeer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for racketeer
Noun
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The all-star cast for the limited series includes Kevin Hart as Chicken Man, the organizer of the party, Taraji P. Henson as his right hand woman Vivian Thomas, Samuel L. Jackson as gangster Frank Moten, and Don Cheadle as J.D. Hudson, the cop trying to figure out who really orchestrated the crime.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
20 June 2025
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Creature With the Atom Brain sees a gangster force a German scientist to reanimate the dead with atomic radiation in order to pull off crimes (recalling both Frankenstein and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, films that fit neatly alongside the zombie genre).—
Daniel Dockery,
Vulture,
18 June 2025
Noun
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Ultra Man is sort of Lex's thug and is pretty powerful.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
19 June 2025
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This will reveal paid fake thugs posing as protesters becoming violent.—
James Rainey,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2025
Verb
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Mexico City band Molotov decry state agents who extort the same communities that pay their salaries, and make a plea for power to be returned to the people.—
Fidel Martinez,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2025
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But when Arthur is released unharmed, rumors fly that the whole thing was a plot contrived by the son to extort money from his father.—
Caroline Fraser
June 10,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2025
Verb
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The most daunting questions are still to come, as GOP leadership rushes to muscle Trump’s signature package to floor for votes by his Fourth of July deadline.—
Lisa Mascaro,
Chicago Tribune,
20 June 2025
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The Tush Push Prevails The Philadelphia Eagles used the technique, which muscles the quarterback into the end zone, to win the 2025 Super Bowl over the Kansas City Chiefs.—
Andrea Lavinthal,
People.com,
18 June 2025
Verb
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In some cases, governments even coerce companies into accepting artificially low prices by threatening to violate their patents and allow other manufacturers to produce copycat drugs.—
Rosa Mendoza,
Boston Herald,
16 June 2025
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Geragos has tried to portray Jane as a willing participant in encounters with male escorts and entertainers while Diddy watched, to undermine prosecution claims that she was coerced and trafficked.—
Victoria Bekiempis,
Vulture,
12 June 2025
Verb
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The murder thrusts Zhan-Zhou into the spotlight and the court of public opinion, forcing her towards a fate intertwined with that of her own country.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
23 June 2025
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There is no one-size-fits-all approach to mental health treatment, and forcing patients onto less effective medications can lead to setbacks in health, social functioning, and recovery.—
Carali McLean,
The Orlando Sentinel,
23 June 2025
Verb
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Since seizing power, in 1979, Iran’s theocracy has menaced its more than ninety million citizens and the wider region.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
21 June 2025
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Potentially dangerous animals menaced the survivalists.—
Frederick Dreier,
Outside Online,
13 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Racketeer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racketeer. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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