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racket

racket

46 7.8
An illegal business that makes money by scams or threats
  • noun
  • /ˈrækɪt/
translation icon : negocio ilegal
  • "You can't afford national sovereignty when you're trying to break up the narcotics racket."
  • a protection racket
  • run a racket
  • an extortion racket

But it's all really just a racket though, like anything else in life, he says.

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Examples

  • Anybody who wanted to get out of the corruption racket could have embraced the now politically homeless labor force.

  • He's a part-time cop that enjoys power and he's trading protection for food and it's nothing but a racket.

  • But it's all really just a racket though, like anything else in life, he says.

  • I got fed up with the education racket.

  • Every one of these guys were in different rackets together.

  • You know, I've been in this racket 25 years, you guys.

  • And let's face it, the weight loss industry is a total racket, a cash machine that runs on our desperation.

  • I've been wanting out of the racket for years, and now I'm out.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Are you aware that Latesha Rodriguez has been running a counterfeit driver's licence racket?

  • The authorities uncovered a major illegal drug racket operating in the city.

Synonyms

fraud
vsracket
577 4.0

Deceiving someone to get money or an unfair advantage

is a specific illegal business or scheme rather than a single act
scam
vsracket
  • NSFW
294 3.0

A dishonest plan to get money by tricking people

is more businesslike and may include force or organized crime
con
vsracket
  • Informal
107 7.2

A dishonest trick to get someone's money or things

is usually larger, ongoing illegal business rather than a single trick
racketeering
vsracket
  • NSFW
31 9.9

Illegal business deals that get money for organized crime groups

is any illegal business or scheme that makes money unlawfully
hustle
vsracket
  • Slang
16 8.0

A dishonest plan to trick people and take their money

can involve organized criminal profit, not only quick persuasive scams
pyramid scheme
vsracket
10 8.5

A dishonest plan where people pay to join and only earn money by recruiting others, not by selling things

is broader, covering many illegal businesses beyond recruitment schemes
numbers racket
vsracket
  • Archaic
1 9.9

An illegal lottery where people secretly bet on numbers

is a general illegal business term not limited to betting operations
1 6.3

An illegal plan to get money by tricking people

covers illegal businesses that use trickery or force to earn money
illegitimate enterprise
vsracket
  • NSFW
8.3

A business that breaks the law to make money

is a scheme rather than a formal ongoing enterprise

Idioms

in the racket
  • Informal
1 9.9

A person who is involved in a dishonest business, often illegal

Compounds

11 1.4

A light oval frame with strings that you use to hit a tennis ball

numbers racket
  • Archaic
1 9.9

An illegal lottery where people secretly bet on numbers

A light, long-handled frame with strings used to hit the shuttlecock in badminton

A light piece of sports equipment with a long handle and a small oval head used to play squash

A club where members play sports like tennis, squash or badminton

How Organized

syndicate
34 7.3
organized crime
  • NSFW
72 3.4
racket
46 7.8
to scheme
14 6.5
scam
  • NSFW
294 3.0

Surface Forms

racket singular
rackets plural

Etymology

Racket meaning an illegal business grew from early slang for a dishonest scheme, as in the phrase 'protection racket', so a racket is a business that makes money by threats or fraud.