racquet

[rak-it]

noun

racquets, (used with a singular verb) a game played with rackets and a ball by two or four persons on a four-walled court.

racket²(defs 1, 2, 4).

Origin of racquet

variant of racket²

Can be confusedracket racquet

racket

[rak-it]

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

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

Related formsrack·et·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for racquet

Contemporary Examples of racquet

He tweaked his racquet size, the tennis equivalent of flailing in the water.
Roger Federer’s U.S. Open Defeat Was Bad, but He’s Not Dead Yet
Sujay Kumar
September 3, 2013

Historical Examples of racquet

She swung her racquet, looked at Shelton, cried, "Be quick!"
The Island Pharisees
John Galsworthy
We might have a game before lunch; you can have my other racquet.
The Island Pharisees
John Galsworthy
The other man, with his racquet on the ground, was holding his eye with both hands!
Happy Days
Alan Alexander Milne
The difference is that instead of racquet and ball, battledore and shuttlecock are used.
The Complete Bachelor
Walter Germain
Tommy laughed and poked Harriet in the ribs with her racquet.
The Meadow-Brook Girls on the Tennis Courts
Janet Aldridge

British Dictionary definitions for racquet

racquet

noun

a variant spelling of racket 2

racket

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

a medieval woodwind instrument of deep bass pitch
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

racket

racquet

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

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

Word Origin and History for racquet

"handled hitting device used in tennis, etc.," c.1500, probably originally "tennis-like game played with open hand" (late 14c.), from Middle French rachette, requette (Modern French raquette) "racket for hitting; palm of the hand," perhaps via Italian racchetta or Spanish raqueta, both from Arabic rahat, a form of raha "palm of the hand." Cf. French jeu de paume "tennis," literally "play with the palm of the hand" (cf. tennis).

racket

n.1

"loud noise," 1560s, perhaps imitative. Klein compares Gaelic racaid "noise." Meaning "dishonest activity" (1785) is perhaps from racquet, via notion of "game," reinforced by rack-rent "extortionate rent" (1590s), from rack (n.1).

racket

n.2

"handled paddle or netted bat used in tennis, etc.;" see racquet.