rack

Meaning

Noun

1. A series of one or more shelves, stacked one above the other
2. Any of various kinds of frame for holding luggage or other objects on a vehicle or vessel.
3. (historical) A device, incorporating a ratchet, used to torture victims by stretching them beyond their natural limits.
4. A piece or frame of wood, having several sheaves, through which the running rigging passes.
5. (slang) A bunk.
6. (broadly, slang, uncountable) Sleep.
7. A distaff.
8. A bar with teeth on its face or edge, to work with those of a gearwheel, pinion, or worm, which is to drive or be driven by it.
9. A bar with teeth on its face or edge, to work with a pawl as a ratchet allowing movement in one direction only, used for example in a handbrake or crossbow.
10. A cranequin, a mechanism including a rack, pinion and pawl, providing both mechanical advantage and a ratchet, used to bend and cock a crossbow.
11. A set of antlers (as on deer, moose or elk).
12. A cut of meat involving several adjacent ribs.
13. (obsolete) A bone of a horse.
14. A hollow triangle used for aligning the balls at the start of a game.
15. A plastic tray used for holding and moving chips.
16. (slang, vulgar) A woman's breasts.
17. A friction device for abseiling, consisting of a frame with five or more metal bars, around which the rope is threaded.
18. (slang) A climber's set of equipment for setting up protection and belays, consisting of runners, slings, carabiners, nuts, Friends, etc.
19. A grate on which bacon is laid.
20. A set with a distributive binary operation whose result is unique.
21. (slang) A thousand dollars, especially if the proceeds are from a crime.

Verb

1. To place in or hang on a rack.
2. To torture (someone) on the rack.
3. To cause (someone) to suffer pain.
4. (figuratively) To stretch or strain; to harass, or oppress by extortion.
5. (obsolete) To alternately concatenate two words to magical effect.
6. To put the balls into the triangular rack and set them in place on the table.
7. (slang, transitive) To strike in the testicles.
8. (slang) To shoplift (especially in a megastore), often by taking off of a rack.
9. (broadly) To take that which belongs to another, without regard of right or permission.
10. To (manually) load (a round of ammunition) from the magazine or belt into firing position in an automatic or semiautomatic firearm.
11. To move the slide bar on a shotgun in order to chamber the next round.
12. To wash (metals, ore, etc.) on a rack.
13. To bind together, as two ropes, with cross turns of yarn, marline, etc.
14. To tend to shear a structure (that is, force it to bend, lean, or move in different directions at different points).

Verb

1. To drive; move; go forward rapidly; stir.
2. To fly, as vapour or broken clouds.

Verb

To clarify, and thereby deter further fermentation of, beer, wine or cider by draining or siphoning it from the dregs.

Verb

To amble fast, causing a rocking or swaying motion of the body; to pace.

Synonyms

shelf

stand

torture

strain

torment

tighten

wind up

stress

tense

strech

single-foot

excruciate

manger

shelves

stall

squeeze

frame

bandage

peg

grate

carrier

scud

destruction

wrack

stow

squash

shelving

ruin

put away

afflict

rack of lamb

shut up

oppress

bind

harry

gridiron

agonize

case

gouge

grill

be stretched tight

pinch

extort

climb

lock up

fall

enclose

bedevil

ravage

cabinet

🗄️

Translations

étagère

Regal

estante

spannen

prateleira

engatilhar

uitrekken

entesar

caricare

anspannen

nauwer aanhalen

spannen

opwinden

apertar

strekken

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɹæk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: rakke

Cognate with Dutch: rek

Inherited from Old English: reċċan

Inherited from Middle English: reken

Inherited from Middle English: rak

Inherited from Middle English: rakken

In summary

From Middle English rakke, rekke, from Middle Dutch rac, recke, rec (Dutch rek), see rekken.

Sentences

Three sections of the line are equipped with rack under the strub system .