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

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

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)

"Men who cheat in trade, who scamp work, evade taxes, rack-rent the poor, are no better than pirates and wreckers."

From Viking Boys by Saxby, Jessie Margaret Edmondston

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)

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