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:
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
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
“I’ve never let anyone on the streets extort me, so how would I ever let a crooked attorney and coward ex-hype man extort me?? I’m from the Bronx!” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2025
DragonForce want the BBC to report the hack - they are apparently trying to extort the company for money.
From BBC ● May 2, 2025
He was a proud and independent man who was opposed to unemployment insurance and never hesitated to whine, whimper, wheedle, and extort for as much as he could get from whomever he could.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
“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
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
“But they make sure that nobody robs, nobody extorts, nobody kidnaps. They don’t mess with the people here.”
From Washington Post ● May 29, 2015
The memory of past vexation and anguish extorts the philosophic remark, "No mortal goes scathless of love."
From Unwritten Literature of Hawaii The Sacred Songs of the Hula by Nathaniel Bright Emerson
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
The relationships, Canter said, make Ernst vulnerable to being extorted if people learned of them and could give someone undue influence over her.
From Salon ● Mar. 4, 2025
“This detailed evidence collectively shows that Hart was involved in a negotiation over the sale of the video, not extorted, which is extremely crucial for understanding the legal and public perception of the incident.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2024
"As business people we were extorted," he says.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2024
As ultimately extorted from the unfortunate Fian, his confession shows a remarkable mixture of imposture and self-deception—a patchwork of the falsehoods he believed and those he invented.
From Witch, Warlock, and Magician Historical Sketches of Magic and Witchcraft in England and Scotland by W. H. Davenport (William Henry Davenport) Adams
In 2023, he made national news after he confronted state police officers in Uruapan whom he accused of extorting from a woman and her daughter.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
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
They were a drain on the economy, extorting money from even the lowest earners, and forcing businesses that can’t or won’t pay to close.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 9, 2024
This may be related to Fox’s triumph in a previous defamation suit brought by ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, who sued the network over Carlson falsely accusing her of extorting Trump on his show.
From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2023
“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.
