I. ˈrak noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English rac, rak; probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian & Swedish dialect rak wreck, wreckage; akin to Old English wrecan to drive — more at wreak
1.
a. obsolete : shock of meeting : rush , charge
b. obsolete : a sound as of a collision : crash
2.
a. : a wind-driven mass of high often broken clouds
b. obsolete : a driving mist or fog
II. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to fly or scud in high wind
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English rekke, racke, probably from Middle Dutch rec framework; akin to Old English reccan to stretch, Old High German recchen, Old Norse rekja to spread out, Gothic uf rakjan to stretch out, Greek oregein — more at right
1. dialect chiefly England : a bar or a set of bars especially for supporting a roasting spit
2. : a framework for holding fodder for livestock usually with upright partitions so placed as to leave room only for one animal's head between them
3.
a. : an instrument of torture formerly much used in Europe and consisting of a frame having rollers at each end to which the limbs are fastened and between which the body is stretched
b. : a framework for stretching leather to a certain specified pull used for purposes of official measurement of the area and thickness of skins and hides
c. : an instrument for bending a crossbow
4.
a. : a cause of anguish or pain or the resulting suffering
the rack of gout
b. : rack rent
c. : a straining or wrenching
a tree twisted by the rack of storms
5. : a framework, stand, or grating on or in which articles are placed (as for keeping or for display)
clothes rack
cake rack
bottle rack
as
a. : a frame fitted to a wagon or truck for carrying hay, straw, grain, tobacco on the stalk, or other bulky loads
b. : a series of bins or compartments into which items may be sorted
mail rack
c. : any compartmented container for holding type cases, galleys, forms, leads, or furniture
d. : a stationary inclined frame or table on which ores are washed
6. : a frame placed in a stream to stop the passage of fish and floating or suspended matter
7. or rack block : a piece or frame of wood having several sheaves through which the running rigging of a ship passes
8.
a. : a bar with teeth on one face for gearing with those of a pinion, bevel wheel, or worm gear
b. : a notched bar used as a ratchet to engage with a pawl, click, or detent
c. : a sector-gear pivoted to contact a snail and regulate the number of hammer blows in a striking clock or repeater watch
9. : a support with springs to offset vibration on which the camera and the subject are fastened in process photography ; also : a support for holding several films or plates during processing
10. : a pair of antlers
11. : a wooden triangular frame used to set up the balls for the opening shot in pool games ; also : the balls as set up when the triangle has been removed
•
- at rack and manger
- on the rack
- to rack and manger
IV. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: partly from Middle English rakken, probably from Middle Dutch recken to stretch (akin to Old English reccan to stretch); partly from rack (III)
transitive verb
1. : to torture on the rack : inflict pain or punishment by pulling or straining
2.
a. : to afflict with torture, pain, or anguish comparable to that suffered on a rack
her heart went out to this racked girl — Adria Langley
racked with jealousy
b. : to afflict and agitate very much with or as if with trouble, stress, anxiety, doubt, unpleasant emotion, or illness
the Greco-Roman world had been racked by revolutions — A.J.Toynbee
was obviously racking his brains as his answer … disclosed — Robert Grant †1940
3.
a. : to stretch, strain, or extend violently
b. : to twist the meaning of : pervert the sense of
c. : to raise (rents) oppressively
d. : to harass or oppress with high rents, exactions, or extortions
4. chiefly Britain
a. : to supply a rack with feed for (as a horse) — used with up
b. : to fasten (an animal) in place at the rack
5. : to work, stretch, or treat (material) on a rack
rack leather
rack rubber
rack ore
6. : to work by a rack and pinion or worm so as to extend or contract
rack a camera
7. : to seize (as parallel ropes of a tackle) together so as to prevent running through the block
8. : to place (as pool balls) in a rack — often used with up
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to become forced out of shape or out of plumb
b. : to sway together from side to side of their proper position relative to the keel — used of a ship's sides
2. Scotland : to undergo straining or stretching : lengthen or give under tension
Synonyms: see afflict
V. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English rakken from Old Provençal arraca, from raca stems and husks of grapes after pressing
1. : to draw off (as wine) from the lees or sediment into new casks — used often with off
2. : to fill (trade casks) with ale or stout
VI. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: probably alteration of rock (I)
of a horse : to use either gait called a rack
VII. noun
( -s )
: either of two gaits of a horse:
a. : pace 5b
b. : a fast showy usually artificial four-beat gait in which the feet leave the ground in the same sequence as in the walk but faster and with higher action — called also single-foot
VIII. noun
( -s )
Etymology: perhaps from rack (III)
1.
a. : the neck and spine of a forequarter of veal, pork, or especially mutton
b. : the rib section of a foresaddle of lamb used for chops and roasts — see hotel rack; lamb illustration
2. : the side planking or side buffer of a ferry slip
3. : rackabones
IX.
variant of wrack
X. noun
( -s )
Etymology: by shortening
: arrack
XI. noun
( -s )
Etymology: perhaps alteration of rake (IV)
dialect : the path or track made by a moving object or animal
•
- by rack of eye
XII.
dialect Britain
variant of reck
XIII. noun
( -s )
Etymology: origin unknown
: a nearly full-grown young rabbit ; also : its skin