Search results
- Dictionaryblack·mail/ˈblakˌmāl/
noun
- 1. the action, treated as a criminal offense, of demanding payment or another benefit from someone in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them: "they were acquitted of charges of blackmail"
verb
- 1. demand money or another benefit from (someone) in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them: "trying to blackmail him for $400,000" Similar
Powered by Oxford Dictionaries
Blackmail is the act of threatening to harm someone or reveal a secret unless they do what you want. Learn how to use this word in different contexts, see examples and translations in other languages.
Blackmail is the act of forcing someone to do or pay something by threatening to reveal a secret or harm them. Learn the origin, synonyms, examples, and legal meaning of blackmail from Merriam-Webster.
Blackmail is the act of attempting to force someone to do something or give up something valuable by threatening negative consequences if they don’t, especially revealing negative information about them. Blackmail can also be used as a verb meaning to do such a thing.
Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offence, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a threat to do something that would cause a person to suffer embarrassment or financial loss.
BLACKMAIL meaning: 1. the act of getting money from people or forcing them to do something by threatening to tell a…. Learn more.
To blackmail someone is to use secret information to get something from them, usually money. Blackmailing is a crime. Blackmail is a type of threat. For example, if a politician's assistant knew the politician was having an affair, the assistant could blackmail the politician by threatening to tell the press.
Blackmail is any payment extorted by intimidation, as by threats of injurious revelations or accusations. Learn more about the word history, origin, and usage of blackmail with Dictionary.com.
