What does "racket" mean?
An implement with a handle connected to a round frame strung with wire, sinew, or plastic cords, and used to hit a ball, such as in tennis or a shuttlecock in badminton.
Racket
/ˈɹækɪt/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An implement with a handle connected to a round frame strung with wire, sinew, or plastic cords, and used to hit a ball, such as in tennis or a shuttlecock in badminton.
- Grammar: racket is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: noise, racquet, ado, agate.
- Useful contrasts: calm, legitimate business, quiet.
- Usage evidence: You have the same racket as I have.
How to use "racket"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "racket" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "racket" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "racket" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "racket" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "racket" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "noise" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "racket", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An implement with a handle connected to a round frame strung with wire, sinew, or plastic cords, and used to hit a ball, such as in tennis or a shuttlecock in badminton. countable
"He bought a new tennis racket two days ago."
- 2 A loud noise.
"Power tools work quickly, but they sure make a racket."
- 3 an illegal enterprise (such as extortion or fraud or drug peddling or prostitution) carried on for profit wordnet
- 4 A snowshoe formed of cords stretched across a long and narrow frame of light wood. Canada
- 5 An illegal scheme for profit; a fraud or swindle; or both coinstantiated.
"prostitution and gambling controlled by rackets"
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 a sports implement (usually consisting of a handle and an oval frame with a tightly interlaced network of strings) used to strike a ball (or shuttlecock) in various games wordnet
- 7 A broad wooden shoe or patten for a man or horse, to allow walking on marshy or soft ground.
- 8 Any industry or enterprise. informal
"They dropped out of the acting racket in 1953 and soon took up writing."
- 9 the auditory experience of sound that lacks musical quality; sound that is a disagreeable auditory experience wordnet
- 10 A carouse; any reckless dissipation. dated, slang
- 11 a loud and disturbing noise wordnet
- 12 Something taking place considered as exciting, trying, unusual, etc. or as an ordeal. dated, slang
Verb
- 1 To strike with, or as if with, a racket.
"Poor man [is] racketed from one temptation to another."
- 2 To make a clattering noise. intransitive
- 3 hit (a ball) with a racket wordnet
- 4 To be dissipated; to carouse. dated, intransitive
- 5 make loud and annoying noises wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 celebrate noisily, often indulging in drinking; engage in uproarious festivities wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A general-purpose, multiparadigm programming language descended from Scheme.
Example
"You have the same racket as I have."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "racket"?
Common synonyms include: noise, racquet, ado, agate, agitation, art.
How do you use "racket" in a sentence?
You have the same racket as I have.
How do you pronounce "racket"?
Pronounced /ˈɹækɪt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English raket, of uncertain origin. Possibly cognate with Middle French rachette, requette (“palm of the hand”). From Arabic رَاحَةْ اَلْيَد (rāḥat al-yad, “palm of the hand”). Alternatively, the term might be derived from Dutch raketsen instead, from Middle French rachasser (“to strike (the ball) back”).
Etymology 2
Attested since the 1500s, of unclear origin; possibly a metathesis of the dialectal term rattick (“to shake, rattle”).