wrack

1 of 6

noun (1)

ˈrak 

1

a

: a wrecked ship

b

: wreckage

c

: wreck

d

dialect : the violent destruction of a structure, machine, or vehicle

2

a

: marine vegetation

especially : kelp

b

: dried seaweeds

wrack

2 of 6

noun (2)

1

: ruin, destruction

2

: a remnant of something destroyed

wrack

3 of 6

verb (1)

wracked; wracking; wracks

transitive verb

: to utterly ruin : wreck

wrack

4 of 6

verb (2)

wracked; wracking; wracks

: rack entry 2

wrack

5 of 6

noun (3)

: rack entry 1 sense 2

wrack

6 of 6

noun (4)

: rack entry 7

Frequently Asked Questions

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."

Synonyms

Verb (1)

• ruin
• destroy
• wreck
• devastate
• shatter
• demolish
• smash

Examples of wrack in a Sentence

Verb (1)

it's amazing how a raging sea can wrack a seemingly sturdy beachfront home

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The early solar system was wracked with profound instabilities, but more recently such effects have been far more subtle. —Phil Plait, Scientific American, 26 June 2025

When the pandemic hit, the export-heavy industry was wracked with supply chain snarls. —Annika Merrilees, Sacbee.com, 7 June 2025

Noun

The residue from earlier high tide lines — wrack lines, as they are called — sits just outside some of the fencing around the nest, even pushing through it in spots, jeopardizing the habitat these birds need to breed. —Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 23 June 2025

Musk and his ilk see this the pathway to civilizational wrack and ruin. —Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English wrak, borrowed from Middle Dutch wrac, wracke & Middle Low German wrak, going back to Germanic *wrak-a- "something driven," noun derivative from the base of Germanic *wrekan- "to drive out, pursue" — more at wreak

Noun (2)

Middle English wrake, wrak, going back to Old English wracu (genitive wræce) & wræc "vengeance, persecution, misery," noun derivatives from the base of Germanic *wrekan- "to drive out, pursue" — more at wreak

Verb (1)

earlier, "to undergo shipwreck, cast ashore by shipwreck," derivative of wrack entry 1

Verb (2)

by alteration

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

1562, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

circa 1555, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1591, in the meaning defined above

Noun (4)

1794, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing wrack

• bladder wrack
• sea wrack

Rhymes for wrack

• ack
• brack
• clack
• crack
• dak
• flack
• flak
• hack
• jack
• knack
• lac
• lack

Kids Definition

wrack

noun

ˈrak

: violent or total destruction : ruin