Adjacent Words

Rack definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RACK, n. [Eng. to reach. See Reach and Break.]
1. An engine of torture, used for extorting confessions from criminals or suspected persons. The rack is entirely unknown in free countries.
2. Torture; extreme pain; anguish.
A fit of the stone puts a king to the rack and makes him as miserable as it does the meanest subject.
3. Any instrument for stretching or extending any thing; as a rack for bending a bow.
4. A grate on which bacon is laid.
5. A wooden frame of open work in which hay is laid for horses and cattle for feeding.
6. The frame of bones of an animal; a skeleton. We say, a rack of bones.
7. A frame of timber on a ship's bowsprit.
RACK, n. [Eng. crag.]
The neck and spine of a fore quarter of veal or mutton.
[The two foregoing words are doubtless from one original.]
RACK, n. [See Reek.]
Properly, vapor; hence, thin flying broken clouds, or any portion of floating vapor in the sky.
The winds in the upper region, which move the clouds above, which we call the rack -
The great globe itself, yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, and, like this unsubstantial pageant, faded, leave not a rack behind.
It is disputed however, whether rack in this passage should not be wreck.
RACK, n. [for arrack. See Arrack.] Among the Tartars, a spirituous liquor made of mare's milk which has become sour and is then distilled.
RACK, v.i. [See the noun.]
1. Properly, to steam; to rise, as vapor.
[See Reek, which is the word used.]
2. To fly, as vapor or broken clouds.
RACK, v.t. [from the noun.]
1. To torture; to stretch or strain on the rack or wheel; as, to rack a criminal or suspected person, to extort a confession of his guilt, or compel him to betray his accomplices.
2. To torment; to torture; to affect with extreme pain or anguish; as racked with deep despair.
3. To harass by exaction.
The landlords there shamefully rack their tenants.
4. To stretch; to strain vehemently; to wrest; as, to rack and stretch Scripture; to rack invention.
The wisest among the heathens racked their wits -
5. To stretch; to extend.
RACK, v.t.
To draw off from the lees; to draw off, as pure liquor from its sediment; as, to rack cider or wine; to rack off liquor.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: framework for holding objects
2: rib section of a forequarter of veal or pork or especially lamb or mutton
3: the destruction or collapse of something; "wrack and ruin" [syn: wrack, rack]
4: an instrument of torture that stretches or disjoints or mutilates victims [syn: rack, wheel]
5: a support for displaying various articles; "the newspapers were arranged on a rack" [syn: rack, stand]
6: a form of torture in which pain is inflicted by stretching the body
7: a rapid gait of a horse in which each foot strikes the ground separately [syn: rack, single-foot] v
1: go at a rack; "the horses single-footed" [syn: single- foot, rack]
2: stretch to the limits; "rack one's brains"
3: put on a rack and pinion; "rack a camera"
4: obtain by coercion or intimidation; "They extorted money from the executive by threatening to reveal his past to the company boss"; "They squeezed money from the owner of the business by threatening him" [syn: extort, squeeze, rack, gouge, wring]
5: run before a gale [syn: scud, rack]
6: fly in high wind
7: draw off from the lees; "rack wine"
8: torment emotionally or mentally [syn: torment, torture, excruciate, rack]
9: work on a rack; "rack leather"
10: seize together, as of parallel ropes of a tackle in order to prevent running through the block
11: torture on the rack

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English rak rain cloud, rapid movement Date: 14th century a wind-driven mass of high often broken clouds II. intransitive verb Date: 1590 to fly or scud in high wind III. noun Etymology: Middle English, probably from Middle Dutch rec framework; akin to Old English reccan to stretch, Greek oregein — more at right Date: 14th century 1. a framework for holding fodder for livestock 2. an instrument of torture on which a body is stretched 3. a. (1) a cause of anguish or pain (2) acute suffering b. the action of straining or wrenching 4. a framework, stand, or grating on or in which articles are placed 5. a. 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 6. a pair of antlers 7. a triangular frame used to set up the balls in a pool game; also the balls as set up 8. bed, sack • rackful noun IV. verb Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. to torture on the rack 2. to cause to suffer torture, pain, anguish, or ruin <racked with jealousy> <a company racked by infighting> 3. a. to stretch or strain violently <racked his brains> b. to raise (rents) oppressively c. to harass or oppress with high rents or extortions 4. to work or treat (material) on a rack 5. to work by a rack and pinion or worm so as to extend or contract <rack a camera> 6. to seize (as parallel ropes of a tackle) together 7. to place (as pool balls) in a rack intransitive verb to become forced out of shape or out of plumb Synonyms: see afflict • racker noun • rackingly adverb V. transitive verb Etymology: 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 Date: 15th century to draw off (as wine) from the lees VI. intransitive verb Etymology: probably alteration of ¹rock Date: 1530 of a horse to go at a rack VII. noun Date: 1580 either of two gaits of a horse: a. pace 4b b. a fast showy 4-beat gait VIII. noun Etymology: perhaps from ³rack Date: 1570 1. the neck and spine of a forequarter of veal, pork, or especially mutton 2. the rib section of a lamb's forequarters used for chops or as a roast — see lamb illustration IX. noun Etymology: alteration of wrack Date: 1592 destruction <rack and ruin>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. --n. 1 a a framework usu. with rails, bars, hooks, etc., for holding or storing things. b a frame for holding animal fodder. 2 a cogged or toothed bar or rail engaging with a wheel or pinion etc., or using pegs to adjust the position of something. 3 hist. an instrument of torture stretching the victim's joints by the turning of rollers to which the wrists and ankles were tied. --v.tr. 1 (of disease or pain) inflict suffering on. 2 hist. torture (a person) on the rack. 3 place in or on a rack. 4 shake violently. 5 injure by straining. 6 oppress (tenants) by exacting excessive rent. 7 exhaust (the land) by excessive use. Phrases and idioms: on the rack in distress or under strain. rack one's brains make a great mental effort (racked my brains for something to say). rack-railway a railway with a cogged rail between the bearing rails. rack-rent n. 1 a high rent, annually equalling the full value of the property to which it relates. 2 an extortionate rent. --v.tr. exact this from (a tenant) or for (land). rack-renter a tenant paying or a landlord exacting an extortionate rent. rack-up US achieve (a score etc.). rack-wheel a cog-wheel. Etymology: ME rakke f. MDu., MLG rak, rek, prob. f. recken stretch 2. n. destruction ( esp. rack and ruin). Etymology: var. of WRACK, WRECK 3. n. a joint of lamb etc. including the front ribs. Etymology: perh. f. RACK(1) 4. v.tr. (often foll. by off) draw off (wine, beer, etc.) from the lees. Etymology: ME f. Prov. arracar f. raca stems and husks of grapes, dregs 5. n. & v. --n. driving clouds. --v.intr. (of clouds) be driven before the wind. Etymology: ME, prob. of Scand. orig.: cf. Norw. and Sw. dial. rak wreckage etc. f. reka drive 6. n. & v. --n. a horse's gait between a trot and a canter. --v.intr. progress in this way.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rack Rack, v. i. To fly, as vapor or broken clouds.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rack Rack, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Racked; p. pr. & vb. n. Racking.] [See Rack that which stretches, or Rock, v.] To amble fast, causing a rocking or swaying motion of the body; to pace; -- said of a horse. --Fuller.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rack Rack, v. t. [Cf. OF. vin raqu['e] squeezed from the dregs of the grapes.] To draw off from the lees or sediment, as wine. It is in common practice to draw wine or beer from the lees (which we call racking), whereby it will clarify much the sooner. --Bacon. Rack vintage, wine cleansed and drawn from the lees. --Cowell.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rack Rack, n. A fast amble.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rack Rack, n. Same as Arrack.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rack Rack, n. [Probably fr. D. rek, rekbank, a rack, rekken to stretch; akin to G. reck, reckbank, a rack, recken to stretch, Dan. r[ae]kke, Sw. r["a]cka, Icel. rekja to spread out, Goth. refrakjan to stretch out; cf. L. porrigere, Gr. ?. ? Cf. Right, a., Ratch.] 1. An instrument or frame used for stretching, extending, retaining, or displaying, something. Specifically: (a) An engine of torture, consisting of a large frame, upon which the body was gradually stretched until, sometimes, the joints were dislocated; -- formerly used judicially for extorting confessions from criminals or suspected persons. During the troubles of the fifteenth century, a rack was introduced into the Tower, and was occasionally used under the plea of political necessity. --Macaulay. (b) An instrument for bending a bow. (c) A grate on which bacon is laid. (d) A frame or device of various construction for holding, and preventing the waste of, hay, grain, etc., supplied to beasts. (e) A frame on which articles are deposited for keeping or arranged for display; as, a clothes rack; a bottle rack, etc. (f) (Naut.) A piece or frame of wood, having several sheaves, through which the running rigging passes; -- called also rack block. Also, a frame to hold shot. (g) (Mining) A frame or table on which ores are separated or washed. (h) A frame fitted to a wagon for carrying hay, straw, or grain on the stalk, or other bulky loads. (i) A distaff. 2. (Mech.) A bar with teeth on its face, or edge, to work with those of a wheel, pinion, or worm, which is to drive it or be driven by it. 3. That which is extorted; exaction. [Obs.] --Sir E. Sandys. Mangle rack. (Mach.) See under Mangle. n. Rack block. (Naut.) See def. 1 (f), above. Rack lashing, a lashing or binding where the rope is tightened, and held tight by the use of a small stick of wood twisted around. Rack rail (Railroads), a toothed rack, laid as a rail, to afford a hold for teeth on the driving wheel of locomotive for climbing steep gradients, as in ascending a mountain. Rack saw, a saw having wide teeth. Rack stick, the stick used in a rack lashing. To be on the rack, to suffer torture, physical or mental. To live at rack and manger, to live on the best at another's expense. [Colloq.] To put to the rack, to subject to torture; to torment. A fit of the stone puts a kingto the rack, and makes him as miserable as it does the meanest subject. --Sir W. Temple.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rack Rack, n. [AS. hracca neck, hinder part of the head; cf. AS. hraca throat, G. rachen throat, E. retch.] The neck and spine of a fore quarter of veal or mutton.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rack Rack, n. [See Wreck.] A wreck; destruction. [Obs., except in a few phrases.] Rack and ruin, destruction; utter ruin. [Colloq.] To go to rack, to perish; to be destroyed. [Colloq.] ``All goes to rack.'' --Pepys.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rack Rack, n. [Prob. fr. Icel. rek drift, motion, and akin to reka to drive, and E. wrack, wreck. ?.] Thin, flying, broken clouds, or any portion of floating vapor in the sky. --Shak. The winds in the upper region, which move the clouds above, which we call the rack, . . . pass without noise. --Bacon. And the night rack came rolling up. --C. Kingsley.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rack Rack, v. t. 1. To extend by the application of force; to stretch or strain; specifically, to stretch on the rack or wheel; to torture by an engine which strains the limbs and pulls the joints. He was racked and miserably tormented. --Pope. 2. To torment; to torture; to affect with extreme pain or anguish. Vaunting aloud but racked with deep despair. --Milton. 3. To stretch or strain, in a figurative sense; hence, to harass, or oppress by extortion. The landlords there shamefully rack their tenants. --Spenser. They [landlords] rack a Scripture simile beyond the true intent thereof. --Fuller. Try what my credit can in Venice do; That shall be racked even to the uttermost. --Shak. 4. (Mining) To wash on a rack, as metals or ore. 5. (Naut.) To bind together, as two ropes, with cross turns of yarn, marline, etc. To rack one's brains or wits, to exert them to the utmost for the purpose of accomplishing something. Syn: To torture; torment; rend; tear.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(racks, racking, racked) Note: The spelling 'wrack' is also used, mainly for meanings 2 and 3, and mainly in old-fashioned or American English. 1. A rack is a frame or shelf, usually with bars or hooks, that is used for holding things or for hanging things on. My rucksack was too big for the luggage rack... N-COUNT: oft supp N see also roof rack, toast rack 2. If someone is racked by something such as illness or anxiety, it causes them great suffering or pain. His already infirm body was racked by high fever... ...a teenager racked with guilt and anxiety. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed by/with n, V-ed see also racking 3. If you rack your brains, you try very hard to think of something. She began to rack her brains to remember what had happened at the nursing home. PHRASE: V and N inflect 4. If you say that someone is on the rack, you mean that they are suffering either physically or mentally. (JOURNALISM) Only a year ago, he was on the rack with a heroin addiction that began when he was 13. PHRASE: usu PHR after v 5. If you say that a place is going to rack and ruin, you are emphasizing that it is slowly becoming less attractive or less pleasant because no-one is bothering to look after it. PHRASE: V inflects [emphasis] 6. Off-the-rack clothes or goods are made in large numbers, rather than being made specially for a particular person. (AM; in BRIT, use off-the-peg) ...the same off-the-rack dress she's been wearing since the night before... PHRASE: PHR n, PHR after v

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Torture, torment, anguish, agony, pang, extreme pain. 2. Crib, manger. 3. Neck (of mutton), crag. 4. Mist, vapor, flying cloud, moisture, dampness. 5. (Naut.) Fairleader. 6. Stand, frame. 7. Arrack, spirituous liquor. II. v. a. 1. Torture, torment, distress, agonize, excruciate, pain extremely. 2. Stretch, strain, force, wrest. 3. Draw off (from sediment). 4. Harass (by exaction), exhaust. 5. Heighten, exaggerate.

Moby Thesaurus

Chateaubriand, Hydromatic, Procrustean bed, adversity, afflict, affliction, agonize, agony, ail, amble, andante, anguish, archives, armory, arsenal, atrocious pain, attic, automatic transmission, bank, barge, basement, batter, bay, beat, bed of Procrustes, beleaguer, bin, bite, blade roast, bloody, bonded warehouse, bookcase, boot, bowl along, box, breast, brisket, bundle, bunker, burn, buttery, cargo dock, cellar, chafe, chest, chuck, chuck roast, claudication, claw, clawing, clod, closet, clump, cogwheel, cold cuts, confinement, conservatory, convulse, crate, crawl, creep, crib, cruciation, crucifixion, crucify, cupboard, cut, damage, dead march, depository, depot, differential, differential gear, dismember, dismemberment, distress, dock, dogtrot, drag, draw and quarter, drawer, droop, dump, estrapade, exchequer, excruciate, excruciation, fester, filet mignon, flank, flounce, foot, footpace, footslog, frame, framework, freewheel, fret, funeral march, gait, gall, galleys, gallop, gear, gear train, gearbox, gearing, gearshift, gearwheel, give pain, glory hole, gnaw, godown, grate, grill, grind, gripe, halt, harass, hard labor, harrow, haul, heave, hell, hell upon earth, high, hippety-hop, hitch, hobble, hold, holder, holocaust, hop, horror, hurt, hutch, impale, impalement, imprisonment, incarceration, inflame, inflict pain, intermediate, iron heel, irritate, jailing, jog, jog trot, jolt, jump, keelhaul, keelhauling, kill by inches, knuckle, lacerate, laceration, lancinate, lancination, leisurely gait, library, limp, lock step, locker, loin, low, lumber, lumber room, lumbering pace, lumberyard, lunge, lurch, macerate, magasin, magazine, martyr, martyrdom, martyrization, martyrize, mince, mincing steps, misery, neutral, nightmare, nip, oppress, overdrive, overexert, overexertion, overextend, overextension, overstrain, overstress, overtax, overtaxing, pace, paddle, pain, passion, peg, penal servitude, persecute, persecution, piaffe, piaffer, picket, picketing, pierce, pinch, plague, plate, plate piece, plod, pot roast, prance, press, prick, prolong the agony, pull, punish, purgatory, put to torture, railriding, rankle, rasp, repertory, repository, reservoir, reverse, rib roast, ribs, rick, rip, roast, rock pile, roll, rolled roast, round, rub, rump, rump roast, saddle, sashay, saunter, savage, scaffold, scaffolding, scarify, scarpines, scourge, screw, scuff, scuffle, scuttle, shake, shamble, shank, shelf, short ribs, shoulder, shoulder clod, shuffle, sidle, single-foot, sirloin, skip, slink, slither, slog, slouch, slow march, slow motion, slowness, stab, stack, stack room, stagger, stalk, stamp, stand, standard transmission, step, stick shift, sting, stock room, stomp, storage, store, storehouse, storeroom, straddle, straggle, strain, strain every nerve, straining, strappado, stress, stress and strain, stressfulness, stretch, stretcher, stride, stroll, strolling gait, structure, strut, stump, suffering, supply base, supply depot, support, swagger, sweat blood, swing, synchromesh, tank, tar and feather, tar-and-feathering, tax, taxing, tenderloin, tense, tension, the gantlet, thumbscrew, tittup, toddle, torment, torture, totter, traipse, transmission, tread, treasure house, treasure room, treasury, trestle, trip, trot, trudge, try, tug, tweak, twist, vat, vault, velocity, waddle, walk, wamble, warehouse, wheel, wiggle, wine cellar, wobble, wound, wrench, wring