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

Also rac·quet

[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. (used with a singular verb),  rackets, racquet.

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,  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 Word Forms

• racketlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of racket¹

First recorded in 1555–65; 1890–95 racket ¹ for def. 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

The gang’s top boss may be convicted and sent to federal custody, but the rackets go on.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He said that Epstein’s trafficking racket was a means of blackmailing “high-profile, extremely wealthy” people.

Read more on Salon

“What a racket! What are you trying to do, wake the dead?”

Read more on Literature

She waited a moment, to see if she felt silly making such a racket, but she found it rather bracing, frankly.

Read more on Literature

Meanwhile, the crypto bros buying into this racket congratulate themselves on fighting for the little guy and sticking it to the Man.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

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