racket

¹ American  

[rak-it] / ˈræk ɪt /

noun

1. a loud noise or clamor, especially of a disturbing or confusing kind; din; uproar.

   The traffic made a terrible racket in the street below.

   Synonyms:

   outcry, tumult, disturbance, cacophony

   Antonyms:

   tranquility, stillness, calm, quiet

2. social excitement, gaiety, or dissipation.

   Antonyms:

   tranquility, stillness, calm, quiet

3. an organized illegal activity, such as bootlegging or the extortion of money from legitimate business people by threat or violence.

4. a dishonest scheme, trick, business, activity, etc..

   the latest weight-reducing racket.

5. Usually the rackets organized illegal activities.

   Some say that the revenue from legalized gambling supports the rackets.

6. Slang.

   1. an occupation, livelihood, or business.

   2. an easy or profitable source of livelihood.

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verb (used without object)

1. to make a racket or noise.

2. to take part in social gaiety or dissipation.

racket ² American  

[rak-it] / ˈræk ɪt /

Also racquet

noun

1. a light bat having a netting of catgut or nylon stretched in a more or less oval frame and used for striking the ball in tennis, the shuttlecock in badminton, etc.

2. the short-handled paddle used to strike the ball in table tennis.

3. (used with a singular verb) rackets, racquet.

4. a snowshoe made in the form of a tennis racket.

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racket ¹ British  

/ ˈrækɪt /

noun

1. a noisy disturbance or loud commotion; clamour; din

2. gay or excited revelry, dissipation, etc

3. an illegal enterprise carried on for profit, such as extortion, fraud, prostitution, drug peddling, etc

4. slang a business or occupation

   what's your racket?

5. music

   1. a medieval woodwind instrument of deep bass pitch

   2. a reed stop on an organ of deep bass pitch

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verb

1. rare to go about gaily or noisily, in search of pleasure, excitement, etc

racket ² British  

/ ˈrækɪt /

noun

1. a bat consisting of an open network of nylon or other strings stretched in an oval frame with a handle, used to strike the ball in tennis, badminton, etc

2. a snowshoe shaped like a tennis racket

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verb

1. (tr) to strike (a ball, shuttlecock, etc) with a racket

Synonym Usage

See noise.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• racketlike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of racket¹

First recorded in 1555–65; 1890–95 racket ¹ for def. 6; by transposition of dialectal rattick; see rattle ¹

Origin of racket²

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English raket, a term for a kind of handball, from Middle French raquette, rachette “palm (of the hand)”; further origin uncertain; perhaps from Arabic rāḥet, variant of rāḥat (al-yad) “palm (of the hand)”

Explanation

If you're carrying a racket and wearing a sporty visor, people will guess that you're on your way to play tennis. A racket has a handle and a rounded frame laced with strings, and it's used to hit a ball. A racket is used to play tennis, badminton, or squash, and it can also be spelled racquet. Another definition of racket is an unpleasantly loud noise; if your neighbors were playing horrible, loud music, you could yell out the window, "Stop that racket!" Informally, the word racket also means "illegal scheme," especially for making money. The French word requette means "palm of the hand," and racquet originally referred to a tennis-like game played by hitting a ball with the hand.

Example Sentences

Niki just wants them to stop the racket they’re making with their drill, so he quickly manipulates the lock and gets back to tuning.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026

The city was quiet, but scampering down Esk Street in the torrential rain of early evening a racket could be heard in the distance.

From BBC • May 17, 2026

Skiers rave about Shiffrin’s skiing the way racket heads rave about Roger Federer’s tennis.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

A 2018 government probe identified 15 companies -- including helicopter firms, trekking agencies and hospitals -- linked to the lucrative racket.

From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026

“What’s all that racket? Is everything all right?”

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• conspiracy
• extortion
• fraud
• graft
• scheme
• swindle
• theft