Highbinder

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A ruffian, especially one of a gang. US, obsolete
  2. 2
    a corrupt politician wordnet
  3. 3
    A member of one of several Chinese criminal gangs associated with illegal immigration and prostitution. US, obsolete
  4. 4
    A swindler, especially a corrupt politician. US, dated

    "Well, I sent for him not an hour ago; he's goin' to take copies of th' accounts that show what th' Chief an' them other highbinders at the top o' Tammany have been doin'."

Example

More examples

"Well, I sent for him not an hour ago; he's goin' to take copies of th' accounts that show what th' Chief an' them other highbinders at the top o' Tammany have been doin'."

Etymology

From the name of a nativist gang that flourished in New York City in the early 19th century, possibly an alteration of hide + binder.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.