What does racquet mean?
A racquet is a hand-held sporting implement consisting of a frame, strings, and a handle. Players use it to strike balls or shuttlecocks in tennis, badminton, squash, racquetball, and related games. The choice of shape, weight, and string tension depends on the sport and the player’s preference. “Racquet” is the usual spelling in American English, while “racket” is also widely accepted in both American and British usage and is especially common in British English. The word can also refer figuratively to a noisy disturbance or a dishonest money-making activity, as in the phrase “a racket for influence.” Its unusual history comes from French, which borrowed the term from an Arabic word connected with the palm of the hand, referring to an earlier hand-held palm racket.
nounA racquet is a lightweight implement with a frame and strings used to strike a ball or shuttlecock in sports such as tennis, badminton, and squash. The spelling “racquet” is standard in US English, while “racket” is also widely used in both British and American English.
- A lightweight, usually oval frame with a handle and strings, used for striking a ball or shuttlecock in tennis, badminton, squash, racquetball, and similar sports.
"She strung her new tennis racquet before the tournament."
"He chose a lightweight racquet for the match."
"The museum displays an antique wooden racquet beside a modern tennis racquet."
The regular plural is “racquets.”
"The shop sells racquets, grips, and tennis balls."
From an Arabic word for the palm of the hand, the name originally described a hand-held palm racket before it became the stringed sports implement we know today.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does racquet come from?
The word comes through French raquette, ultimately from Arabic rakhat, meaning “palm of the hand.” The original sense referred to a hand-held palm racket used in a ball game, and the name was later applied to the stringed implement used in tennis and other racket sports. The alternative spelling “racket” has long been established and survives in both British and American English.
How racquet is actually used
“Racquet” is the conventional spelling in American English, especially for the sports implement. “Racket” is also standard and is the predominant spelling in British English; outside sport, it commonly denotes a loud disturbance or an illegal business scheme.
Easily confused with racquet
“Racket” is a variant spelling of “racquet”; both refer to the sporting implement, though “racquet” is preferred in some contexts for the sports equipment and “racket” is also used figuratively for a noisy disturbance or dishonest business.