A person who engages in graft or corruption; someone who takes bribes or illegally profits from office.
From 'graft' (the practice of obtaining money dishonestly through one's position) with the agent suffix '-er.' The term emerged in 19th-century American English as political corruption became a serious problem.
American newspapers from the 1880s-1920s were obsessed with grafters—corrupt politicians, cops on the take, and dishonest judges—making 'grafter' one of the era's most common insults, right up there with 'scoundrel.'
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