A man who acts as a
prostitute's manager. They often claim much of the money that the prostitutes earn, saying that it's legititmate since they "protect the prostitutes from harm." The "protection" is a lie, since pimps are known to be physically and/or mentally abusive to the prostitute(s) and often encourage them to take up
drugs, so that addiction will keep them dependant on their pimp.
Pimps are known to "befriend"
girls and women who are runaways and/or are doing poorly, promising comfort... thus luring more women into the hellhole of prostitution.
Strangely, in sexually
liberal countries, where prostitution is legal, the power of pimps is greatly reduced, thus giving prostitutes more freedom.