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Synonyms

hush money

American  

noun

  1. a bribe to keep someone silent about something, especially to keep the receiver from exposing a scandal.

hush money British  

noun

  1. slang money given to a person, such as an accomplice, to ensure that something is kept secret

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
hush money Idioms  

  1. A bribe paid to keep something secret, as in No amount of hush money will keep that scandal from coming out. [c. 1700]

Etymology

Origin of hush money

First recorded in 1700–10

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.

Hellerstein has also tangled with Donald Trump, rejecting a request by the US president to have his New York hush money case moved to federal court.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

Also Friday, Judge Juan Merchan in Manhattan is set to sentence President Elect Donald Trump in the hush money trial.

From Slate • Jan. 9, 2025

She said it had felt like "hush money".

From BBC • Dec. 9, 2024

Prosecutors in the hush money trial brought up the agreement when trying to explain why they didn’t call Weisselberg to the stand as a witness.

From Salon • Jun. 4, 2024

The complicated chain of events, known as the Watergate scandal, included hush money and destroyed evidence.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

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.