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

Relevance

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
  • Saint played Edie Doyle, whose brother was murdered by thugs working for a mob boss running a longshoremen's union; her character becomes involved with Brando's pugilistic dockworker Terry Malloy.
    — David Morgan, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The residents occasionally gather in a disused rec center but the meetings devolve into rants about immigrants, junkies, thugs and vigilantism.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of thugs
Verb
  • The companies and economies that endure will be the ones that can balance growth, resilience and sustainability—and change before outside pressure forces them to.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The process forces light atomic nuclei together at extremely high temperatures and under intense pressure.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 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
  • That pressures the economy because higher yields make borrowing money more expensive for everyone, while also undercutting prices for stocks and other investments.
    — Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of pressures

Browse Nearby Words

racketeering
racketeers
racketing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Racketeers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racketeers. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All