loan-shark
Definition
- Noun:
- A person who lends money at extremely high and often illegal interest rates: A "loan-shark" is an individual or entity that provides loans to borrowers, typically those unable to secure credit from legitimate sources, and charges exorbitant interest, often using threats or violence to enforce repayment.
Usage Examples
- (A person lending money at predatory rates.)
- (Individuals charging extremely high interest.)
Advanced Usage
"to be a loan-shark": to operate as an illegal moneylender.
- He was arrested for acting as a loan-shark in the neighbourhood. (He was prosecuted for illegal lending.)
"loan-shark tactics": methods used by loan-sharks, including intimidation or harassment.
- The company used loan-shark tactics to collect debts, threatening borrowers with violence. (Aggressive and illegal collection methods.)
Variants and Related Words
Loan-sharking (n): the practice or business of lending money at excessively high interest rates, often illegally.
- Loan-sharking is a serious crime in many jurisdictions. (The illegal activity of predatory lending.)
Shark (n, informal): a person who exploits others, especially financially.
- Be careful of that car salesman — he's a real shark. (A predatory or unscrupulous person.)
Synonyms
- Usurer: a person who lends money at unreasonably high rates of interest (formal or historical term).
- Moneylender: a person who lends money, often at high interest, though not necessarily illegally.
Related Idioms
"To have a loan-shark breathing down your neck": to be under constant pressure from a loan-shark to repay a debt.
- After taking the loan, he had a loan-shark breathing down his neck for months. (He was harassed for repayment.)
"Shark-infested waters": a situation full of predatory people, including loan-sharks.
- The underground lending market is shark-infested waters for the unwary. (A dangerous environment with many predatory lenders.)