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hush money

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hush money

Fig. money paid as a bribe to persuade someone to remain silent and not reveal certain information. Bob gave his younger sister hush money so that she wouldn't tell Jane that he had gone to the movies with Sue. The crooks paid Fred hush money to keep their whereabouts secret.

See also: hush, money

hush money

money that you pay someone to stop them telling anyone else about something that you want to keep secret His assistant had been paid hush money to stop him from speaking to the press.

See also: hush, money

hush money

A bribe paid to keep something secret, as in No amount of hush money will keep that scandal from coming out. [c. 1700]

See also: hush, money

hush money

n. money paid to buy someone’s silence. There was some hush money paid to someone in city hall.

See also: hush, money