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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
That’s before Morgan steals a necklace from a chintzy gift shop run by a Turkish gangster named Yusuf, who proceeds to kidnap the pair, intimidate them at gunpoint, and threaten their family, forcing them to perform an array of odd jobs to make up for the petty theft.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Longtime collaborators Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro reunited for this 2019 gangster epic, about the real-life hitman Frank Sheeran and his experiences working for the Mafia.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But is Duncan the devil who manipulates, lies and emotionally blackmails anyone in his orbit?—
Stephen Schaefer,
Boston Herald,
12 Apr. 2026
-
Something Duncan says in a session with JoAnne leads her to unload some stock, like Martha Stewart in 2004, and Duncan, working this out, blackmails her into passing on inside information from her clients to him.—
Television Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The thugs would insinuate themselves into the confidence of wayfarers and, when a favorable opportunity presented itself, strangle them by throwing a handkerchief or noose around their necks.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
31 Mar. 2026
-
No government masked thugs shooting down our neighbors in the streets.—
Diego Parrado,
Vanity Fair,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Avenatti had been convicted of stealing millions of dollars from clients over the years, including Daniels; trying to extort Nike to the tune of more than $20 million and blocking the IRS’s attempts to collect payroll taxes.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Dozens of armed groups run rampant in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, extorting businesses, kidnapping people and driving farmers off their land.—
Caitlin Stephen Hu,
CNN Money,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
Charles’ boss, Julie (Lilah Richcreek Estrada), takes the case, and given Charles’ background as a retired Cal State East Bay engineering professor, installs him as a visiting professor tasked with rooting out the blackmailer.—
G. Allen Johnson,
San Francisco Chronicle,
20 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Michigan made only two three-pointers all night but still muscled its way to a 69-63 victory over stingy, stubborn Connecticut.—
Senior Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Apr. 2026
-
His single muscled off the end of his bat into left-center field sent Tatis sprinting around third base and sliding across the plate with the go-ahead run.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Several customers, a Miami-Dade judge and now the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services say Thompson’s a fraudulent, bait-and-switch extortionist.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Nike depicts Total90 as an extortionist.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
2 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
The Audacity seems to be setting up a deadly confrontation between them, but there’s still some chance JoAnne can be coerced into playing ball with Duncan.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
12 Apr. 2026
-
The criminal syndicates refitted their properties as centres where teams of workers – often trafficked and coerced – run online scams at scale.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
12 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Racketeer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racketeer. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
