blackmail

noun

black·​mail ˈblak-ˌmāl 

1

: a tribute anciently exacted on the Scottish border by plundering chiefs in exchange for immunity from pillage

2

a

: extortion or coercion by threats especially of public exposure or criminal prosecution

b

: the payment that is extorted

blackmail transitive verb

blackmailer noun

Examples of blackmail in a Sentence

She was a victim of blackmail.

The servant extorted blackmail from her employer.

Recent Examples on the Web

What began in a Brentwood park on a summer day in 2022, when a dog owned by billionaire surgical-device inventor Gary Michelson allegedly bit another pet owner, has turned into dueling lawsuits and an allegation of blackmail. —Laurence Darmiento, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024

Murder Mubarak: In the elite Royal Delhi Club, the murder of a fitness coach leads detectives Singh and Padam through a web of blackmail and secrets among the club's members to find the killer. —Travis Bean, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

But, this week, after a questionable landslide election victory, President Vladimir Putin dismissed the U.S. warning as outright blackmail. —CBS News, 24 Mar. 2024

This sort of thing was valuable currency when moral blackmail was sufficient to shut down debate over what was best for America’s children. —The Editors, National Review, 20 Mar. 2024

Rather than targeting big corporations, the hackers in India’s underground are routinely paid to access personal email accounts, whether by a wife spying on her husband’s financial affairs or a blackmail victim searching for a way out of their predicament. —Chris Wheatley, Longreads, 12 Mar. 2024

Elissa had reported the blackmail to the local sheriff, but school officials only dropped the matter after an emotional interrogation of the girl. —Michael H. Keller, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2024

The natural comparison to be made here is to Grindr, the gay dating app whose popularity, spyware features, and obvious blackmail potential were swiftly recognized to be an intolerable civic and national-security threat. —The Editors, National Review, 12 Mar. 2024

Criminals are posing as age-appropriate romantic targets online, soliciting compromising photos from teenagers, and then using them for blackmail. —Heather Kelly, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

black entry 1 + mail entry 4

First Known Use

1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing blackmail

• emotional blackmail

Kids Definition

blackmail

noun

black·​mail ˈblak-ˌmāl 

1

: the act of forcing a person to do or pay something especially by a threat to reveal a secret

2

: something (as money) obtained through blackmail

blackmail verb

blackmailer noun

Etymology

from black (the color) and mail "rent, payment," from Old English māl "agreement," of Norse origin

Word Origin

The word blackmail has no connection at all with the postal system. In the 16th and part of the 17th centuries, the area along the border between England and Scotland was not usually protected by the officials on either side. Landholders were beset not only by outlaws but also by their own chieftains, who told them that in return for payment they would not be raided. In Scotland mail means "rent" or "payment." This word comes ultimately from an Old Norse word māl meaning "agreement" or "speech." The mail delivered by a letter carrier originally meant "sack, bag," and referred to the sack in which letters were carried; it is hence completely distinct in origin from the mail of blackmail.

Legal Definition

blackmail

noun

black·​mail ˈblak-ˌmāl 

: extortion or coercion by often written threats especially of public exposure, physical harm, or criminal prosecution

blackmail transitive verb

blackmailer

-ˌmā-lər

noun

Etymology

originally, payment extorted from farmers in Scotland and northern England, from black + dialectal mail payment, rent