hush money

noun

: money paid so that someone will keep information secret : money that a person pays someone to hush something up
He's accused of paying her hush money to keep their affair secret.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web The hearing comes just two weeks after a grand jury charged former President Donald Trump, a Republican, with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments, in a case brought by Bragg. Scott Macfarlane, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2023 Trump's legal issues Trump addresses the NRA ten days after pleading not guilty in New York City to charges of falsifying business records in order to cover up hush money payments and campaign finance violations. David Jackson, USA TODAY, 14 Apr. 2023 An investigation by the Department of Justice found both Daniels and McDougal received hush money payments from the former president – $130,000 to Daniels before the 2016 election and $150,000 to McDougal. Ella Lee, USA Today, 12 Apr. 2023 How’s that? Consider the circumstances surrounding the hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels, star of the naked screen. Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2023 Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty last week to 34 felony counts related to hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels around the 2016 election. Hope Karnopp, NBC News, 10 Apr. 2023 The former president’s legal troubles, including last week’s controversial indictment in New York on charges related to a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, have thrust him back in the national spotlight. Gromer Jeffers Jr., Dallas News, 10 Apr. 2023 And there's likely more to come on matters more serious than anything rising out of hush money payments to an adult film star. ABC News, 9 Apr. 2023 Cohen helped facilitate some of those hush money payments. Ryan King, Washington Examiner, 9 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hush money.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Cite this Entry

“Hush money.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hush%20money. Accessed 7 Jun. 2023.

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