racketeer
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of racketeer
Explanation
A racketeer is a criminal, especially one who's involved in organized white collar crime or dishonest business dealings. If a lawyer embezzles money from her clients, she is a racketeer. Racketeers commit crimes in order to make money for themselves. In many cases, a racketeer is a business owner or professional who falsifies financial records to hide income or bills clients for more than they owe. A racket is a scam or fake service that's run by a racketeer — and the crime itself, if the racketeer is caught, is called racketeering. The source of all three words is thought to be racquet, and the idea of a scam as a "game."
Vocabulary lists containing racketeer
1984
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Vocabulary from the Third and Final Presidential Debate, October 19, 2016
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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.
The Global New Light of Myanmar said the Yatai firm of Chinese-Cambodian alleged racketeer She Zhijiang was "the entity involved" in running the Shwe Kokko area.
From Barron's • Nov. 19, 2025
Browner, Chambers and Lesley Chappell Green, 35, of Stone Mountain were all convicted of racketeer influenced and corrupt organization conspiracy.
From Washington Times • Aug. 22, 2023
There is no evidence Butler gained materially from being “a racketeer for capitalism” — his words — who “helped rape a half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street.”
From Seattle Times • Jan. 18, 2022
A law student, a doctor and the doctor’s daughter build a case against a racketeer.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2020
Beacon pbo 1955, released 1959 Evening waster about a racketeer who specializes in quick divorces, and his girlfriend who flirts with all the women as he disengages them from their husbands.
From Checklist A complete, cumulative Checklist of lesbian, variant and homosexual fiction, in English or available in English translation, with supplements of related material, for the use of collectors, students and librarians. by Bradley, Marion Zimmer
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.
