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
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as in to blackmail
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of racketeer
San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 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
Ira Trivedi, Foreign Affairs, 7 Aug. 2015
Parts of the city turned into wastelands of racketeers and alcoholics.
—Simon Shuster, TIME, 4 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for racketeer
Noun
And Connick learned firsthand about being a defendant: Federal prosecutors charged him in 1990 with racketeering and aiding a sports-betting operation.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 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
Verb
She was arrested and charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, usually reserved for drug racketeers and smugglers running large operations.
—Ira Trivedi, Foreign Affairs, 7 Aug. 2015
Parts of the city turned into wastelands of racketeers and alcoholics.
—Simon Shuster, TIME, 4 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for racketeer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for racketeer
Noun
-
Alfredo’s lifelong business partner and small-time gangster Annibale (Marco Giallini) even sees it as his chance to ask Lorella on a date.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
8 July 2025
-
Where to watch: Tubi 'Sinners' Ryan Coogler's sinfully good period musical gangster vampire horror flick is one of the best movies of the year, period.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
5 July 2025
Noun
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According to reporting from the Clermont Sun, Fike tweeted ‘#thug the new n word’ in April 2015 and ‘Thug life = thug treatment = no pity from me’ in July 2019.—
James Wilkins,
The Orlando Sentinel,
9 July 2025
-
These scenes evoke images of government thugs in violent regimes disappearing opponents.—
Christy Lopez Guest,
Mercury News,
5 July 2025
Verb
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Gangs have long extorted businesses in the neighborhood and terrorized everyone else — including immigrants.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 July 2025
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Ashe imagined a hypothetical scenario in which the school’s security force became like Haiti’s notorious secret police, the Tonton Macoute, whose officers not only threatened newspaper reporters, but also assaulted, extorted and tortured innocent citizens.—
David McGrath,
Chicago Tribune,
8 July 2025
Verb
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Doing tight curves, trying to muscle the craft with your legs and arms, and protecting your tush through big waves with your legs as shock absorbers does take effort.—
Jeremy Korzeniewski,
Robb Report,
12 July 2025
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Summer league also provides a chance for bubble players to muscle their way into two-way contracts or even NBA playing time.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
10 July 2025
Verb
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Witnesses testified about whether the original detective and prosecutor in his case had coerced them into testifying against Bell at his 1995 trial.—
The Marshall Project,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 July 2025
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The school board responded that the materials did no more than expose the children to new ideas, and that in any case nobody was being coerced.—
Stephen L. Carter,
Mercury News,
8 July 2025
Verb
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Glaser told Variety that her shift in wardrobe allowed viewers to see that she’s taken control of her life, no longer following the gaudy colors and costumes her mother forced upon her in previous seasons.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
15 July 2025
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In Sweden, municipalities were forced to communicate offline using paper memos.—
Sindhya Valloppillil,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
Verb
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And that burgeoning population, menaced by poverty and the police, felt the city’s malignance.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
14 June 2025
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The August 2024 blaze forced some people to flee as the flames menaced their homes, witnesses told this news organization.—
George Avalos,
Mercury News,
22 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Racketeer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racketeer. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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