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noun
1.
any payment extorted by intimidation, as by threats of injurious revelations or accusations.
2.
the extortion of such payment: He confessed rather than suffer the dishonor of blackmail.
3.
a tribute formerly exacted in the north of England and in Scotland by freebooting chiefs for protection from pillage.
verb (used with object)
4.
to extort money from (a person) by the use of threats.
5.
to force or coerce into a particular action, statement, etc.: The strikers claimed they were blackmailed into signing the new contract.
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Blackmail
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is yaff. Does it mean:
| to bark; yelp. |
| chat, to converse |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To blackmail
Example Sentences
- Morgenthau, said the fake check was a tactic to strengthen the evidence that blackmail had occurred.
- Elsewhere blackmail and bribery helped get more people out to vote.
- And each electric power line has an on/off switch which can be used to blackmail the receiving end.
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
blackmail
1550s, second element is M.E. male "rent, tribute," from O.E. mal "lawsuit, terms, bargaining, agreement," from O.N. mal "speech, agreement;" related to O.E. mæðel "meeting, council," mæl "speech," Goth. maþl "meeting place," from P.Gmc. *mathla-, from PIE *mod- "to meet, assemble."
EXPANDFrom the practice of freebooting clan chieftains who ran protection rackets against Scottish farmers. Black from the evil of the practice. Expanded c.1826 to any type of extortion money. Verb is 1880.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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