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
Relevance
as in to blackmail
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of racketeer
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2025
Oh yeah, this relationship with this 38-year-old racketeer is so beautiful.
—Michael Cuby, Them, 1 Aug. 2024
Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 13 Dec. 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
See All Example Sentences for racketeer
Noun
In the other corner: Vito Genovese, Costello’s childhood friend and fellow racketeer, who had to leave town long ago because of a thing, and has now come home to resume his place in the Mafia hierarchy.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2025
Oh yeah, this relationship with this 38-year-old racketeer is so beautiful.
—Michael Cuby, Them, 1 Aug. 2024
Verb
Conahan pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges.
—Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 13 Dec. 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
See All Example Sentences for racketeer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for racketeer
Noun
-
Magana’s wife, who was inside at the time, said the exchange sounded like a gangster movie.—
Eleanor Nash
Updated May 3,
Kansas City Star,
3 May 2026
-
Cogan made a similar decision in 2011, disqualifying him from representing Colombo gangster Dino Saracino — who was acquitted of the murder of off-duty NYPD cop Ralph Dols but convicted of racketeering.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
His actions suggest a pattern of behavior that could have exposed him to blackmail or extortion, said Emma Davidson Tribbs, a founding director of the National Women’s Defense League.—
Allison Gordon,
CNN Money,
4 May 2026
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At its mid-’90s peak, upwards of 14 million people tuned in each week to see who was sleeping with, blackmailing or attempting to murder whom.—
Andrea Lavinthal,
PEOPLE,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Cabello, once Maduro's chief thug, can now be seen sitting across from high level Trump officials in meetings discussing business deals.—
Margaret Brennan,
CBS News,
30 Apr. 2026
-
He’s beaten by thugs with a crowbar for an unfortunate outburst, exploited by neighbors in the council estate and arrested, all because people don’t understand Tourette syndrome.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The group is attempting to extort the company, threatening to release massive amounts of student data if demands are not met.—
Tori Mason,
CBS News,
8 May 2026
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Marcus Lamb also alleged that three people tried to extort money from him to stay quiet.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 May 2026
Noun
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On advice of his crisis lawyer Ira Slitz (Hill, unrecognizable with a bald head and gray beard), Reef sets out to apologize to everyone from his past who may be angry with him in an effort to find the blackmailer.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2026
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In Season 2, eager to take on another big undercover case, Charles Nieuwendyk (Danson) gets his chance when a mysterious blackmailer targets Wheeler College president Jack Berenger (Max Greenfield), who enlists Charles to go undercover as a professor.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Banda worked her way into the box, muscled off a defender and curled a bouncing shot to the far post past Courage goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.—
Kyle Foley,
The Orlando Sentinel,
9 May 2026
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Chonkers, a roughly 2,000-pound Steller sea lion, has muscled his way onto San Francisco’s most famous floating docks and turned the place into his personal stage.—
Samantha Agate,
Charlotte Observer,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
As the bomb squad works to disarm it, FBI rushes to catch the extortionists.—
William Earl,
Variety,
29 Apr. 2026
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The movie follows Reef Hawk (Keanu Reeves), an A-list Hollywood star and recovering addict who fears the destruction of his reputation when a mysterious extortionist threatens to release a damaging video of him.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Without that market competition, the plaintiffs argued, gamers were coerced into paying higher prices, effectively allowing Sony to monopolize the sale of its digital PlayStation games.—
Drew Pittock,
USA Today,
4 May 2026
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Emerging in the 1940s, this framework reframed fertility not as something to be coerced outright, but as something that could — and should — be rationally managed through planning, education, and access to contraception.—
Sonya Borrero,
STAT,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Racketeer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racketeer. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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