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Synonyms

racketeer

American  
[rak-i-teer] / ˌræk ɪˈtɪər /

noun

  1. a person engaged in a racket.

verb (used without object)

  1. to engage in a racket.

racketeer British  
/ ˌrækɪˈtɪə /

noun

  1. a person engaged in illegal enterprises for profit

"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

verb

  1. (intr) to operate a racket

"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

Other Word Forms

  • racketeering noun

Etymology

Origin of racketeer

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30; racket 1 + -eer

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.

An alleged Chinese racketeer linked to a hugely lucrative scam hub in Myanmar was extradited from Thailand to China on Wednesday, a police official in Bangkok told AFP.

From Barron's • Nov. 12, 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

Gerald Shur was 15 when he first met a mobster, a bodyguard for a racketeer seeking to intimidate his father, a dressmaker in New York City’s garment district.

From Washington Post • Sep. 2, 2020

If you should set a thief to catch a thief, what does it take to stop a racketeer...?

From The Ambulance Made Two Trips by Leinster, Murray

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.