racket

¹

[ rak-it ]

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.

verb (used without object)

1. to make a racket or noise.
2. to take part in social gaiety or dissipation.

racket

²

[ rak-it ]

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.

racket

¹

/ 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

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

racket

²

/ 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

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

Other Words From

• racket·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of racket¹

First recorded in 1555–65; 1890–95 racket ¹fordef 6; by transposition of dialectal rattick; 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)”

Word History and Origins

Origin of racket¹

C16: probably of imitative origin; compare rattle ¹

Origin of racket²

C16: from French raquette , from Arabic rāhat palm of the hand

Synonym Study

See noise.

Example Sentences

Critics said it was unrealistic to expect Mexico to shut down billion-dollar trafficking organizations that have been expanding their territories, rackets and power for years.

From Los Angeles Times

Cigarettes are being found within the frames of wooden aid pallets and inside closed food cans, indicating that there is a regional racket involved in smuggling.

From BBC

“Did you see how my racket scratched my back?”

From Los Angeles Times

The Aussie quartet is gathered on a recent afternoon around a Griffith Park picnic table, where a small herd of little kids makes a racket on the grass nearby.

From Los Angeles Times

In his announcement Thursday, Nadal said it was an “appropriate time” to hang up his racket, calling his career “much more successful than I could have ever imagined.”

From Salon

Related Words

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