noun

racket

RA-kiht

noun

A handled frame strung with cord, used to hit a ball or shuttlecock in sports like tennis or badminton.

"He restrung his tennis racket before the tournament."

A loud, disturbing noise.

"The neighbors were making such a racket at 2am that no one could sleep."

A dishonest or illegal scheme for making money, often through fraud or extortion.

"Police shut down a protection racket run out of the nightclub."

"The whole thing turned out to be an insurance racket."

How to Use Racket

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishEither the bat used in tennis-type sports, a loud noise, or a dishonest money-making scheme.

Common mistake

In sports contexts, "racket" and "racquet" are both accepted spellings, though "racket" is more common in American English.

UK vs US

Both UK and US writing use "racket" for the noise/scam senses; "racquet" is a common alternate spelling for the sports equipment, especially in Commonwealth English.

Common pairings

tennis racket make a racket run a racket protection racket

Word Forms

racketed past tense, racketed past tense, rackets plural, rackets plural, rackets singular, rackets singular

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

He restrung his tennis _____ before the tournament.

Etymology

The sports-equipment sense probably comes from an old French or Arabic word for the palm of the hand; the noise/scheme senses developed separately in English slang.

Rhymes for racket

jacket packet bracket straitjacket

See all rhymes for racket →