rack

Q: Do you rack or wrack your brain?

Wrack and rack are etymologically distinct , meaning they come from different words. Many usage guides will advise that you should use wrack for meanings such as "to utterly ruin," and rack for "to cause to suffer torture, pain, anguish, or ruin." If you follow this advice, the proper choice for what you do to your brain when thinking very hard is rack . However, wrack has long been used as a variant of rack , and numerous fine writers have avowedly wracked their brains or found something nerve-wracking.

Q: "Do you rack up or wrack up debts?"

While there are a number of settings in which wrack is considered an acceptable variant of rack , the accumulation of debts is not one of them. In this context rack up typically means "to achieve, score; to accumulate."

noun (1)

Save Word

\ ˈrak

Definition of rack

(Entry 1 of 9)

1 : a framework, stand, or grating on or in which articles are placed

2 : an instrument of torture on which a body is stretched

3a(1) : a cause of anguish or pain

(2) : acute suffering

b : the action of straining or wrenching

4a : a bar with teeth on one face for gearing with a pinion or worm gear to transform rotary motion to linear motion or vice versa (as in an automobile steering mechanism)

b : a notched bar used as a ratchet to engage with a pawl, click, or detent

5 : a pair of antlers

6 : bed, sack

7 : a triangular frame used to set up the balls in a pool game also : the balls as set up

8 : a framework for holding fodder for livestock

on the rack

: under great emotional stress

rack

verb (1)

racked; racking; racks

Definition of rack (Entry 2 of 9)

transitive verb

1 : to cause to suffer torture, pain, anguish, or ruin

2 : to place (balls, such as pool balls) in a rack

3a : to stretch or strain violently

b : to raise (rents) oppressively

c : to harass or oppress with high rents or extortions

4 : to torture on the rack

5 : to work or treat (material) on a rack

6 : to work by a rack and pinion or worm so as to extend or contract rack a camera

7 : to seize (ropes, such as parallel ropes of a tackle) together

intransitive verb

: to become forced out of shape or out of plumb

rack

noun (2)

Definition of rack (Entry 3 of 9)

1 : the rib section of a lamb's forequarters used for chops or as a roast — see lamb illustration

2 : the neck and spine of a forequarter of veal, pork, or especially mutton

rack

noun (3)

Definition of rack (Entry 4 of 9)

: destruction rack and ruin

rack

noun (4)

Definition of rack (Entry 5 of 9)

: either of two gaits of a horse:

a : pace sense 4b

b : a fast showy 4-beat gait similar to the pace but in which the feet of the same side do not touch down at the same time

rack

verb (2)

racked; racking; racks

Definition of rack (Entry 6 of 9)

intransitive verb

of a horse

: to go at a rack

rack

noun (5)

Definition of rack (Entry 7 of 9)

: a wind-driven mass of high often broken clouds

rack

verb (3)

racked; racking; racks

Definition of rack (Entry 8 of 9)

intransitive verb

: to fly or scud in high wind

rack

verb (4)

racked; racking; racks

Definition of rack (Entry 9 of 9)

transitive verb

: to draw off (wine) from the lees

Other Words from rack Choose the Right Synonym Frequently Asked Questions About rack Learn More About rack

Other Words from rack

Noun (1)

rackful \ ˈrak-ˌfu̇l

\ noun

Verb (1)

racker noun

rackingly \ ˈra-kiŋ-lē

\ adverb

Choose the Right Synonym for rack

Verb (1)

afflict, try, torment, torture, rack mean to inflict on a person something that is hard to bear. afflict is a general term and applies to the causing of pain or suffering or of acute annoyance, embarrassment, or any distress. ills that afflict the elderly try suggests imposing something that strains the powers of endurance or of self-control. children often try their parents' patience torment suggests persecution or the repeated inflicting of suffering or annoyance. a horse tormented by flies torture adds the implication of causing unbearable pain or suffering. tortured by a sense of guilt rack stresses straining or wrenching. a body racked by pain

Frequently Asked Questions About rack

Do you rack or wrack your brain?

Wrack and rack are etymologically distinct, meaning they come from different words. Many usage guides will advise that you should use wrack for meanings such as "to utterly ruin," and rack for "to cause to suffer torture, pain, anguish, or ruin." If you follow this advice, the proper choice for what you do to your brain when thinking very hard is rack. However, wrack has long been used as a variant of rack, and numerous fine writers have avowedly wracked their brains or found something nerve-wracking.

Is it racked or wracked with pain?

Some guides feel that "racked with pain" is the preferable choice, although wrack is in many cases an acceptable variant. The verbs are often conflated despite their very different origins (the former from Middle Dutch rekken, meaning "to stretch," and the latter from the Middle English word for shipwreck, wrak).

"Do you rack up or wrack up debts?"

While there are a number of settings in which wrack is considered an acceptable variant of rack, the accumulation of debts is not one of them. In this context rack up typically means "to achieve, score; to accumulate."

First Known Use of rack

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 8

Verb (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 4

Noun (2)

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (3)

1592, in the meaning defined above

Noun (4)

1580, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1530, in the meaning defined above

Noun (5)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (3)

1590, in the meaning defined above

Verb (4)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for rack

Noun (1)

Middle English, probably from Middle Dutch rec framework; akin to Old English reccan to stretch, Greek oregein — more at right

Noun (2)

perhaps from rack entry 1

Noun (3)

alteration of wrack

Verb (2)

probably alteration of rock entry 1

Noun (5)

Middle English rak rain cloud, rapid movement

Verb (4)

Middle English rakken, from Old French (Norman & Picard dialect) reequier, probably from Late Latin reaedificare to rebuild, repair, improve, from Latin re- + aedificare to build — more at edify