extortion
/ɪkˈstɔɹʃən/noun
extortion is spelled E-X-T-O-R-T-I-O-N: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, extortion means “The practice of extorting money or other property by the use of force or threats” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of extortion is extortions.
How many letters and syllables are in extortion?
| Letters | 9: E-X-T-O-R-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 19,825th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is extortion?
Extortion appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce extortion?
- UK /ɪkˈstɔːʃən/
- UK /ɛk-/
- US /ɪkˈstɔɹʃən/
Extortion has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-extortion.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with extortion?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as extortion from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹʃən/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of extortion
- extortions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does extortion mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The practice of extorting money or other property by the use of force or threats.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Extortion in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the practice of extorting money or other property:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | extorsion |
| German | Erpressung, Wucher, Extorsion |
| Portuguese | extorsão |
| Spanish | extorsión |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does extortion come from?
From Middle English extorcion, from Anglo-Norman extorcion, extorcioun, extorsioun, from Late Latin extortiō, from extorqueō. By surface analysis, extort + -ion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).