rack-rent

American  

[rak-rent] / ˈrækˌrɛnt /

noun

1. Also rack rent rent equal to or nearly equal to the full annual value of a property.

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verb (used with object)

1. to exact the highest possible rent for.

2. to demand rack-rent from.

rack-rent British  

noun

1. a high rent that annually equals or nearly equals the value of the property upon which it is charged

2. any extortionate rent

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verb

1. to charge an extortionate rent for (property, land, etc)

Other Word Forms

• rack-renter noun

Etymology

Origin of rack-rent

First recorded in 1600–10

Example Sentences

By the Statute of Frauds all leases, except leases for a term not exceeding three years, and at not less than two-thirds of the rack-rent, were required to be in writing.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 3 "Convention" to "Copyright" by Various

The result of such rack-rent can only be evil,—abuse and neglect of the soil, deterioration in the character of the laborers, and a widespread sense of injustice.

From The Souls of Black Folk by Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt)

Those who carry snuff-boxes are only his tenants; and hold them merely by virtue of a rack-rent, under him.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, December 11, 1841 by Various

The poorer sort, for want of work; the farmers whose beneficial bargains, are now become a rack-rent, too hard to be borne.

From The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D. — Volume 09 Contributions to The Tatler, The Examiner, The Spectator, and The Intelligencer by Swift, Jonathan

What moral conviction is expressed in the condemnation of usurious interest and of rack-rent?

From The Social Principles of Jesus by Rauschenbusch, Walter