RACK

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does rack mean? 

• RACK (noun)
  The noun RACK has 7 senses:

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

4. an instrument of torture that stretches or disjoints or mutilates victims

5. a support for displaying various articles

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

  Familiarity information: RACK used as a noun is common.

• RACK (verb)
  The verb RACK has 11 senses:

1. go at a rack

2. stretch to the limits

3. put on a rack and pinion

4. obtain by coercion or intimidation

5. run before a gale

6. fly in high wind

7. draw off from the lees

8. torment emotionally or mentally

9. work on a rack

10. seize together, as of parallel ropes of a tackle in order to prevent running through the block

11. torture on the rack

  Familiarity information: RACK used as a verb is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RACK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Framework for holding objects

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("rack" is a kind of...):

frame; framework (a structure supporting or containing something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rack"):

coat rack; coatrack; hatrack (a rack with hooks for temporarily holding coats and hats)

towel horse; towel rack (a rack consisting of one or more bars on which towels can be hung)

toastrack (a rack for holding slices of toast)

tie rack (a rack for storing ties)

plate rack (a rack for holding plates to dry after they have been washed)

pipe rack (a rack for holding a smoker's pipes)

hayrack (a rack that holds hay for feeding livestock)

dish rack (a rack for holding dishes as dishwater drains off of them)

carrier (a rack attached to a vehicle; for carrying luggage or skis or the like)

bicycle rack (a rack for parking bicycles)

barbecue; barbeque (a rack to hold meat for cooking over hot charcoal usually out of doors)

Derivation:

rack (work on a rack)

rack (put on a rack and pinion)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Rib section of a forequarter of veal or pork or especially lamb or mutton

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("rack" is a kind of...):

cut; cut of meat (a piece of meat that has been cut from an animal carcass)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rack"):

crown roast; rack of lamb (a roast of the rib section of lamb)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The destruction or collapse of something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

rack; wrack

Context example:

wrack and ruin

Hypernyms ("rack" is a kind of...):

demolition; destruction; wipeout (an event (or the result of an event) that completely destroys something)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An instrument of torture that stretches or disjoints or mutilates victims

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

rack; wheel

Hypernyms ("rack" is a kind of...):

instrument of torture (an instrument of punishment designed and used to inflict torture on the condemned person)

Derivation:

rack (torture on the rack)

rack (torment emotionally or mentally)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A support for displaying various articles

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

rack; stand

Context example:

the newspapers were arranged on a rack

Hypernyms ("rack" is a kind of...):

support (any device that bears the weight of another thing)

Meronyms (parts of "rack"):

spit (a skewer for holding meat over a fire)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rack"):

cruet-stand (a stand for cruets containing various condiments)

dress rack (a rack used primarily to display dresses for sale in a store)

magazine rack (a rack for displaying magazines)

music rack; music stand (a light stand for holding sheets of printed music)

spice rack (a rack for displaying containers filled with spices)

tripod (a three-legged rack used for support)

bier (a stand to support a corpse or a coffin prior to burial)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A form of torture in which pain is inflicted by stretching the body

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("rack" is a kind of...):

torture; torturing (the deliberate, systematic, or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more persons in an attempt to force another person to yield information or to make a confession or for any other reason)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A rapid gait of a horse in which each foot strikes the ground separately

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

rack; single-foot

Hypernyms ("rack" is a kind of...):

gait (a horse's manner of moving)

Derivation:

rack (go at a rack)

• RACK (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Go at a rack

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

rack; single-foot

Context example:

the horses single-footed

Hypernyms (to "rack" is one way to...):

pace (go at a pace)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

rack (a rapid gait of a horse in which each foot strikes the ground separately)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Stretch to the limits

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Context example:

rack one's brains

Hypernyms (to "rack" is one way to...):

strain; stress; try (test the limits of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Put on a rack and pinion

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Context example:

rack a camera

Hypernyms (to "rack" is one way to...):

put to work; work (cause to work)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

rack (framework for holding objects)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Obtain by coercion or intimidation

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

extort; gouge; rack; squeeze; wring

Context example:

They squeezed money from the owner of the business by threatening him

Hypernyms (to "rack" is one way to...):

fleece; gazump; hook; overcharge; pluck; plume; rob; soak; surcharge (rip off; ask an unreasonable price)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "rack"):

bleed (get or extort (money or other possessions) from someone)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something from somebody

Sense 5

Meaning:

Run before a gale

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

rack; scud

Hypernyms (to "rack" is one way to...):

sail (travel on water propelled by wind)

Domain category:

navigation; pilotage; piloting (the guidance of ships or airplanes from place to place)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 6

Meaning:

Fly in high wind

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "rack" is one way to...):

fly; wing (travel through the air; be airborne)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sense 7

Meaning:

Draw off from the lees

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

rack wine

Hypernyms (to "rack" is one way to...):

draw; take out (take liquid out of a container or well)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 8

Meaning:

Torment emotionally or mentally

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

excruciate; rack; torment; torture

Hypernyms (to "rack" is one way to...):

anguish; hurt; pain (cause emotional anguish or make miserable)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

rack (an instrument of torture that stretches or disjoints or mutilates victims)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Work on a rack

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

rack leather

Hypernyms (to "rack" is one way to...):

process; work; work on (shape, form, or improve a material)

"Rack" entails doing...:

stretch (pull in opposite directions)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

rack (framework for holding objects)

Sense 10

Meaning:

Seize together, as of parallel ropes of a tackle in order to prevent running through the block

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "rack" is one way to...):

clutch; prehend; seize (take hold of; grab)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 11

Meaning:

Torture on the rack

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "rack" is one way to...):

excruciate; torment; torture (subject to torture)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

rack (an instrument of torture that stretches or disjoints or mutilates victims)

 Context examples 

“I’ll beat you out, and I hope you no worse than that you rack your old engines into scrap.”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

It was all over before I arrived; so my curiosity was not so dreadfully racked as yours seems to have been.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

I would not have trusted her with the rack itself, while that furious look lasted.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

It had been snatched down from a rack on the wall.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Hans takes Gretel, ties her to a rope, leads her to the rack, and binds her fast.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Lock guns in a rack or safe, and hide the keys or combination.

(Gun Safety, NIH)

"It's very well, he's in the rack. I'll get him, and tell it you are here."

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Every other child must be racking his heart.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

You were born, I think, to be my torment: my last hour is racked by the recollection of a deed which, but for you, I should never have been tempted to commit.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Then he suddenly rolled them all into a gigantic ball and tossed them up onto the rack.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)