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loansharking

American

[lohn-shahr-king] / ˈloʊnˌʃɑr kɪŋ /

Or loan-sharking

noun

the practice of lending money at excessive rates of interest.

Etymology

Origin of loansharking

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70; loan shark + -ing ¹

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.