racket
Racket (noun) means a handled frame strung with cord, used to hit a ball or shuttlecock in sports like tennis or badminton. Example: “He restrung his tennis racket before the tournament.”
How to use racket
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEither the bat used in tennis-type sports, a loud noise, or a dishonest money-making scheme.
In sports contexts, "racket" and "racquet" are both accepted spellings, though "racket" is more common in American English.
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.
Word forms
- Plural
- rackets
- Third person singular
- rackets
- Past tense
- racketed
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.