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racket1

[rak-it] /ˈræk ɪt/
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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.
2.
social excitement, gaiety, or dissipation.
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.
verb (used without object)
7.
to make a racket or noise.
8.
to take part in social gaiety or dissipation.
Origin of racket1
1555-1565
1555-65; 1890-95 for def 6; metathetic variant of dial. rattick; see rattle1
Can be confused
racket, racquet.
Synonyms
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1. tumult, disturbance, outcry. See noise.
Antonyms
1, 2. tranquillity.

racket2

[rak-it] /ˈræk ɪt/
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.
rackets, (used with a singular verb) racquet (def 1).
4.
a snowshoe made in the form of a tennis racket.
Also, racquet (for defs 1, 2, 4)
Origin
1490-1500; < Middle French raquette, rachette, perhaps < Arabic rāḥet, variant of rāḥah palm of the hand
Related forms
racketlike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.
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Examples from the Web for rackets
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples

  • Vercoe and Bourne were the victorious finalists at Kensington in the rackets.

    Acton's Feud Frederick Swainson

  • The wings are of a purple-brown, as is the tail; but the rackets are black, shot with green.

    The Western World W.H.G. Kingston

  • We had to take our rackets off, for it was so rocky and uneven that we could not use them.

    Ben Comee M. J. (Michael Joseph) Canavan

  • The tennis players came in sight, waving a salutation with their rackets.

    Love at Paddington W. Pett Ridge

  • The boy called to 'Merican Joe who had paused to refasten the thongs of his rackets.

    Connie Morgan in the Fur Country James B. Hendryx

  • As long as I ignore their rackets they accept me in their midst, talk freely with me around.

    This One Problem M. C. Pease

  • The Englishmen seemed to be enjoying themselves and they took a long time to select the rackets.

    Germany in War Time Mary Ethel McAuley

  • The girls flung down their rackets and ran joyfully to meet her.

    The School Queens L. T. Meade

  • "The foe was worthy of their steel—or rather, rackets," said Gwethyn to Rose Randall.

    The Jolliest Term on Record Angela Brazil
British Dictionary definitions for rackets

rackets

/ˈrækɪts/
noun
1.
(functioning as sing)
  1. a game similar to squash played in a large four-walled court by two or four players using rackets and a small hard ball
  2. (as modifier): a rackets court, a rackets championship

racket1

/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
verb
6.
(rare) (intransitive) often foll by about. to go about gaily or noisily, in search of pleasure, excitement, etc
Word Origin
C16: probably of imitative origin; compare rattle1

racket2

/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
verb
3.
(transitive) to strike (a ball, shuttlecock, etc) with a racket
See also rackets
Word Origin
C16: from French raquette, from Arabic rāhat palm of the hand
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word Origin and History for rackets

racket

n.

"loud noise," 1560s, perhaps imitative. Klein compares Gaelic racaid "noise." Meaning "dishonest activity" (1785) is perhaps from racquet, via notion of "game," reinforced by rack-rent "extortionate rent" (1590s), from rack (n.1).

"handled paddle or netted bat used in tennis, etc.;" see racquet.

racket

n.2

"handled paddle or netted bat used in tennis, etc.;" see racquet.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang definitions & phrases for rackets

racket

noun

  1. Any illegal concern or enterprise; a criminal business; dodge, grift: G Marks and Abe Cohn have a new racket now of promenading Clinton Street dock (1785+)
  2. A party or dance, esp a noisy one In recent usage this is most common among the police: passing evidence around like a pretzel tray at a retirement racket (1745+)
  3. Any concession, stand, etc (1940s+ Circus & carnival)

verb

To lead a busy life professionally and socially: Monk's seesawing years, from 1935 to 1940, were spent racketing endlessly back and forth between Europe and New York, an itinerant pianist and boulevardier (1760+)

[fr early 1800s British underworld fr racket, ''noise, confusion,'' etc]

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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13
14
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