1. n. (also racquet)
1. a bat with a round or oval frame strung with catgut, nylon, etc., used in tennis, squash, etc.
2 (in pl.) a ball game for two or four persons played with rackets in a plain four-walled court.
3 a snow shoe resembling a racket.
Phrases and idioms:
racket-ball a small hard orig. kid-covered ball of cork and string. racket-press a press for keeping rackets taut and in shape. racket-tail a S. American humming-bird, Loddigesia mirabilis, with a racket-shaped tail.
Etymology: F racquette f. It. racchetta f. Arab. raha palm of the hand 2. n.1 a a disturbance; an uproar; a din. b social excitement; gaiety.
2 sl. a a scheme for obtaining money or attaining other ends by fraudulent and often violent means. b a dodge; a sly game.
3 colloq. an activity; a way of life; a line of business (starting up a new racket).
Derivatives:
rackety adj.
Etymology: 16th c.: perh. imit.