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racketeers 1 of 2

noun

plural of racketeer
as in gangsters
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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racketeers

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of racketeer
as in extorts

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 racketeers
Noun
Of course, entrusting waste management to gangsters and racketeers has repercussions. — Literary Hub, 8 July 2026 The characters were based on a real family of bookmakers and racketeers who once lived in England. — Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 5 Mar. 2026 When Ferrara was starting out, private investment in low-budget films was spurred by tax loopholes, a way for doctors, dentists, and racketeers to get rid of extra cash that would otherwise wind up in Uncle Sam’s grubby mitts. — Nick Pinkerton, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for racketeers
  1. gangsters
  2. blackmails
  3. thugs
  4. forces
  5. blackmailers
  6. muscles
  7. extortionists
  8. pressures
Noun
  • Somebody like Gilroy or Jeff Kober and Barry Corbin (popping up occasionally as a pair of geriatric gangsters) will come and go in situations knowingly designed to feel contrived.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
  • And the next thing, a knock come at the door and these gangsters come in with guns.
    — Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of gangsters
Verb
  • The third ended by setting Deborah and Ava on a collision course after Ava blackmails Deborah into becoming head writer of her late-night show, only to render the fallout in cartoonishly broad terms.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 May 2026
  • Their antagonism peaked at the end of Season 3, when Deborah achieves her dream of landing a late-night chair and Ava blackmails her way into the head-writer job.
    — Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 29 May 2026
Definition of blackmails
Noun
  • That a Christian man was responsible for the devastation in Oklahoma City certainly didn’t matter to the thugs who terrorized a Muslim woman there, nearly seven months pregnant, by attacking her home, breaking her windows, screaming religious slurs.
    — Reshma Memon Yaqub, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Some of the thugs were actual neo-Nazis, led by real-life Russian fascist Maksim Martsinkevich, who would later be imprisoned for posting racist videos, investigated for murder and, in 2020, found dead in his cell of an apparent suicide.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of thugs
Verb
  • Cooper told Fox40 that changes to state parole laws are up to the state Legislature, which might not act until a high-profile case forces its hands.
    — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Every year, by design, the law forces thousands of inefficient old vehicles off the road as the cost of compliance rises and parts become harder to find.
    — Kyle Cheromcha, The Drive, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of forces
Noun
  • Despite paying off blackmailers and marrying Lady Olivia Hedges (Danielle Galligan) to protect his secret, Arthur still loses his father’s Parliament seat after getting caught committing election fraud.
    — Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2025
  • Grandchildren are being summoned to help grandparents deal with blackmailers.
    — Yvonne Zipp, Christian Science Monitor, 17 Sep. 2025
Definition of blackmailers
Verb
  • Which muscles the farmer’s walk targets The move works nearly the entire body, but leg muscles, the core and shoulder muscles carry most of the load.
    — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026
  • One year later, the XFL muscles its way onto the national sports scene with its first two games.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Definition of muscles
Noun
  • There still will be scammers, extortionists, extremists and others who try to take advantage of teens and adults.
    — Larry Magid, Mercury News, 26 Aug. 2026
  • As bomb technicians struggled to disarm the explosive, the FBI raced against the clock to deliver the ransom while simultaneously hunting the extortionists.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of extortionists
Verb
  • High inflation also pressures the Fed to reduce the money supply by increasing interest rates, making cheap credit harder to get.
    — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026
  • If a message pressures you to donate immediately, verify your identity or click a link before a deadline, avoid using the link in the email when anything feels off.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of pressures

Browse Nearby Words

racketeering
racketeers
racketing
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Cite this Entry

“Racketeers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racketeers. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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