extort
Americanverb (used with object)
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extorts,
present (3rd person singular)
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extorted,
past participle, past
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extorting
present participle
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Law.
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to wrest or wring (money, information, etc.) from a person by violence, intimidation, or abuse of authority; obtain by force, torture, threat, or the like.
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to take illegally by reason of one's office.
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to compel (something) of a person or thing.
Her wit and intelligence extorted their admiration.
verb
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to secure (money, favours, etc) by intimidation, violence, or the misuse of influence or authority
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to obtain by importunate demands
the children extorted a promise of a trip to the zoo
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to overcharge for (something, esp interest on a loan)
Usage
What does extort mean? Extort means to use violence, threats, intimidation, or pressure from one’s authority to force someone to hand over money (or something else of value) or do something they don’t want to do. Extort is commonly used in this literal way, but it can also be used in a few more general or figurative ways. It can mean to overcharge someone for something, as in If you ask me, the textbooks companies are extorting us by coming out with new editions every year. It can also mean to obtain through relentless and unreasonable demands, as in The kids are good at extorting treats from their grandparents just by constantly asking. These senses liken such actions to the actual crime of extortion. More generally, the word extortion refers to the act of extorting. Such actions can be described as extortionary. A person who engages in extortion can be called an extortionist or an extortioner. Example: The mob regularly extorts money from small business owners through intimidation.
Synonym Usage
See extract.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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extortsimple
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extortssimple
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have extortedperfect
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has extortedperfect
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am extortingprogressive
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are extortingprogressive
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is extortingprogressive
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have been extortingperfect progressive
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has been extortingperfect progressive
Past
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extortedsimple
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had extortedperfect
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was extortingprogressive
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were extortingprogressive
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had been extortingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of extort
First recorded in 1525–1500; from Latin extortus, past participle of extorquēre, equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + torquēre “to twist”; see tort ( def. )
Explanation
To extort is to use information or the threat of violence to acquire cash or something else. Extortion is a classic shakedown, a gouge, a squeeze. Usually it's money someone is after if they're going to extort you for it. Threats of violence and blackmail are probably the two most popular ways to extort a person. It's illegal but surprisingly common. Watch siblings play — older brothers serve no time for extortion.
Vocabulary lists containing extort
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"Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
ShinyHunters first demanded that the bureau amend a public service announcement accusing the group of using “harassment strategies” and “pressure tactics” to extort victims.
From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2026
The streamer accused Afram’s law firm of “hostile attempts to extort money from Netflix over this situation — including immediately demanding $165 million for the film rather than work with us in good faith.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
Instructure, the maker of Canvas, has now confirmed it has "reached an agreement" with the hackers, who have said they deleted the data and promised not to extort any students or institutions.
From BBC ● May 12, 2026
There in Africa, smugglers link up with al Qaeda-affiliated groups that escort the cargoes north and extort payments from the overland convoys, said current and former rebel leaders in northern Mali.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025
He could always extort a day or two in class from them with the free weekly pizza.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
“Landmark extorts small businesses, demanding payment for webpages that are essential for running a business,” Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a statement Thursday.
From Seattle Times ● May 13, 2021
“Here you have someone trying to lawfully work and support their families, and then someone turns around and extorts them,” Erzen said.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 7, 2017
This means, for example, that a U.S. senator who extorts money is no more immune to being charged with this crime than an ordinary American.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2017
The main perk of being the bid’s junior partner is that we won’t be on the hook for the full array of infrastructural follies Fifa normally extorts from the host.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 11, 2017
This language was indeed the result of an observation not less keen than that by which the inductive philosopher extorts the secrets of the natural world.
After $1.7 million in payments, prosecutors said Hastert stopped giving the man money in late 2014 after authorities, aware of suspicious bank withdrawals, approached the former speaker to investigate whether he was being extorted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
The court found that the girl’s mother extorted thousands of dollars from Franco.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026
"It is the regulator who will be the fans' best hope for producing a system whereby they are not extorted," Fynn said.
From BBC ● May 4, 2026
He has effectively extorted $1 billion in free legal services from law firms based on baseless legal claims and tens of millions of dollars from media companies based on wholly meritless lawsuits.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
These are so distinguished for their admirable wit, their keen argument, and their exquisite beauty of style, as to have even extorted praise from Voltaire and D'Alembert.
From Curiosities of Human Nature by Anonymous
But her political career ended when her husband, Bill Collins, a dentist and businessman, was convicted in 1993 of extorting money from people who had business before the state while his wife was governor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
He denied threatening or extorting anyone, the detective said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2025
Last week, a federal court in St Louis indicted 14 North Koreans for allegedly being part of a long-running conspiracy aimed at extorting funds from US companies and funnelling money to Pyongyang's weapons programmes.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2024
Cohen acknowledged once telling a prosecutor he felt that Daniels and her lawyer were extorting Trump.
From Seattle Times ● May 26, 2024
“You would think,” Skarpi’s voice rolled out like thick honey, “fine churchmen such as yourselves could find better things to do than arresting storytellers and extorting money from honest men.”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
