rack-rent
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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to exact the highest possible rent for.
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to demand rack-rent from.
noun
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a high rent that annually equals or nearly equals the value of the property upon which it is charged
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any extortionate rent
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rack-rent
First recorded in 1600–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There is the same system of rack-rent in the one as in the other, and the same uncertainty in the rate of the Government demand.
From A Journey through the Kingdom of Oude, Volumes I & II by Sleeman, William
How is it possible to improve their condition, when every improvement only imposes an additional burden upon them in the shape of rack-rent or eviction?
From Irish Race in the Past and the Present by Thebaud, Augustus J.
It is otherwise with ordinary tenements, when the tenant pays a full, or what the law terms rack-rent; the landlord is then to insure, unless it is otherwise arranged by the agreement.
From The Book of Household Management by Beeton, Mrs. (Isabella Mary)
Thus, how miserable is the condition of the peasants in Russia, of the Irish "rack-rent" tenants!
From Socialism and the Social Movement in the 19th Century by Sombart, Werner
"It is a serious thing," said Oldacre, "for farmers at rack-rent to begin building houses for their poor; but I am against it, for the sake of the poor themselves."
From Christmas Stories by Berens, Edward
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
