What does blackmailing mean?
Blackmailing refers to the act of coercing someone into paying money or complying with demands through threats, most commonly the threat of revealing damaging or embarrassing information about them. It is the present participle and gerund form of the verb "blackmail," so it appears in constructions such as "they are blackmailing him" or "blackmailing is a serious crime." The word carries unambiguously negative connotations: it names a form of extortion that exploits fear, shame, and secrecy rather than physical violence alone. In legal terms, blackmail is a criminal offense in Britain, the United States, and many other jurisdictions, and the term appears frequently in journalism, crime fiction, and discussions of ethics. Its history is memorable—the term derives from 16th-century Scottish "mail" (rent or tribute), where "black mail" referred to payments extracted from farmers by reivers and Highland clans in return for protection against raids they themselves might carry out.
verbThe present participle of "blackmail": the act of extorting money or compliance from someone by threatening to expose a damaging secret or by other threats.
- To coerce or extort money or favors from someone through threats, especially the threat of revealing damaging information.
"She accused her business partner of blackmailing her into silence with threats to reveal their private correspondence."
"He was arrested for blackmailing a former colleague who feared the exposure of an old scandal."
"The tabloid was accused of blackmailing celebrities into granting exclusive interviews."
The word comes from 16th-century Scotland, where farmers paid "black mail"—rent paid not in silver but in cattle or labor—to Highland chieftains for protection against raids; the protection racket gave extortion its name.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of blackmailing
The word derives from "blackmail," which originated in 16th- and early 17th-century Scotland, where "mail" meant rent or tribute (from Old Norse "mál"). "Black mail" was tribute paid to border reivers and Highland chieftains—often in goods such as cattle rather than silver coin—in exchange for protection against raids. The "black" element connoted the sinister, coercive nature of the payment, distinguishing it from legitimate rent. Over time the term generalized throughout English to mean any extortion by threat, giving rise to the verb and its participle "blackmailing." The "black" root also connects it etymologically to compounds like "blacklist" and "blackball."
Related word forms
How blackmailing is actually used
Carries strongly negative connotations and implies coercion or criminal behavior; used both as a gerund ("Blackmailing is a crime") and in continuous verb tenses ("They are blackmailing him"). Register is standard in legal, journalistic, and everyday contexts.
Easily confused with blackmailing
Bullying involves repeated intimidation or abuse without necessarily demanding something in exchange, while blackmailing specifically uses threats—often of exposing secrets—to force someone to pay or comply.