Phrase guide

hush money

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A bribe to maintain secrecy (to prevent bad publicity or to prevent the discovery of a crime).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • The scandal was even greater when it was announced that hush money had been paid to keep the faulty products unannounced.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a bribe paid to someone to insure that something is kept secret

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: bribe, payoff

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

22 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 封口費 /封口费 (fēngkǒufèi) — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 遮羞費 /遮羞费 (zhēxiūfèi) — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Dutch: zwijggeld — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Finnish: vaikenemisraha — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Finnish: vaitioloraha — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • French: pot-de-vin — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • French: bakchich — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • German: Schweigegeld — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Japanese: 口止め料 (kuchidomeryō) — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Japanese: 鼻薬 (hanagusuri) — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Korean: 입막음 용 돈 (immageum yong don) — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Korean: 입막음 돈 (immageum don) — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Manx: argid tostid — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Occitan: dejós de man — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Occitan: vinatge — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Persian: حقالسکوت (haq-os-sokut) — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Russian: де́ньги за молча́ние (dénʹgi za molčánije) — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Russian: бакши́ш (bakšíš) — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Sicilian: mazzetta — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Spanish: untada por el silencio — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Spanish: coima para acallar — bribe to maintain secrecy
  • Turkish: sus payı — bribe to maintain secrecy