definitions

racket

1
[ rak-it ]
/ ˈræk ɪt /
||

noun

verb (used without object)

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

RELATED WORDS

fraud, graft, conspiracy, theft, scheme, extortion, swindle, shuffle, agitation, blare, wrangle, squabble, battle, free-for-all, row, disturbance, riot, babel, hubbub, clamor

Nearby words

rack saw, rack up, rack-and-pinion, rack-rent, rackboard, racket, racket amputation, racket press, racket-tail, racketeer, racketeering

Origin of racket

1
1555–65; 1890–95 for def 6; metathetic variant of dial. rattick; see rattle1

SYNONYMS FOR racket

1 tumult, disturbance, outcry. See noise.

ANTONYMS FOR racket

1, 2 tranquillity.

Can be confused

racket racquet

Definition for rackets (2 of 2)

racket

2
[ rak-it ]
/ ˈræk ɪt /

noun

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.
the short-handled paddle used to strike the ball in table tennis.
rackets, (used with a singular verb) racquet(def 1).
a snowshoe made in the form of a tennis racket.
Also rac·quet (for defs 1, 2, 4).

Origin of racket

2
1490–1500; < Middle French raquette, rachette, perhaps < Arabic rāḥet, variant of rāḥah palm of the hand

Related forms

rack·et·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rackets

British Dictionary definitions for rackets (1 of 3)

rackets

/ (ˈrækɪts) /

noun

(functioning as singular)
  1. a game similar to squash played in a large four-walled court by two or four players using rackets and a small hard ball
  2. (as modifier)a rackets court; a rackets championship

British Dictionary definitions for rackets (2 of 3)

racket

1
/ (ˈrækɪt) /

noun

a noisy disturbance or loud commotion; clamour; din
gay or excited revelry, dissipation, etc
an illegal enterprise carried on for profit, such as extortion, fraud, prostitution, drug peddling, etc
slang a business or occupationwhat's your racket?
music
  1. a medieval woodwind instrument of deep bass pitch
  2. a reed stop on an organ of deep bass pitch

verb

(intr often foll by about) rare to go about gaily or noisily, in search of pleasure, excitement, etc

Word Origin for racket

C16: probably of imitative origin; compare rattle 1

British Dictionary definitions for rackets (3 of 3)

racket

2

racquet

/ (ˈrækɪt) /

noun

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
a snowshoe shaped like a tennis racket

verb

(tr) to strike (a ball, shuttlecock, etc) with a racket
See also rackets

Word Origin for racket

C16: from French raquette, from Arabic rāhat palm of the hand
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012