racking brains - definition of racking brains by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

rack¹ (r

a. A framework or stand in or on which to hold, hang, or display various articles: a trophy rack; a rack for baseball bats in the dugout; a drying rack for laundry.

b. Games A triangular frame for arranging billiard or pool balls at the start of a game.

c. A receptacle for livestock feed.

d. A frame for holding bombs in an aircraft.

2. Slang A bunk; a bed.

3. A toothed bar that meshes with a gearwheel, pinion, or other toothed machine part.

a. A state of intense anguish.

b. A cause of intense anguish.

5. An instrument of torture on which the victim's body was stretched.

6. A pair of antlers.

tr.v. racked, rack·ing, racks

1. To place (billiard balls, for example) in a rack.

2. To cause great physical or mental suffering to: Pain racked his entire body. See Synonyms at afflict.

3. To torture by means of the rack.

Phrasal Verbs:

rack out Slang

To go to sleep or get some sleep.

rack up Informal

To accumulate or score: rack up points.

Idiom:

on the rack

Under great stress.

[Middle English rakke, probably from Middle Dutch rec, framework; see reg- in Indo-European roots.]

racker n.

rack² (r

A fast, flashy, four-beat gait of a horse in which each foot touches the ground separately and at equal intervals.

intr.v. racked, rack·ing, racks

To go or move in a rack.

[Origin unknown.]

rack³ (r

A thin mass of wind-driven clouds.

intr.v. racked, rack·ing, racks

To be driven by the wind; scud: low clouds racking by.

[Middle English rak, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Swedish rak, wreckage.]

rack⁴ (r

Variant of wrack¹.

rack⁵ (r

n. & v.

Variant of wrack².

rack⁶ (r

tr.v. racked, rack·ing, racks

To drain (wine or cider) from the dregs.

[Middle English rakken, from Old Provençal arracar, from raca, stems and husks of grapes.]

rack⁷ (r

a. A wholesale rib cut of lamb or veal between the shoulder and the loin.

b. A retail rib cut of lamb or veal, prepared for roasting or for rib chops.

2. The neck and upper spine of mutton, pork, or veal.

[Probably from rack.]

rack¹

1. a framework for holding, carrying, or displaying a specific load or object a plate rack a hat rack a hay rack a luggage rack

2. (Engineering / Mechanical Engineering) a toothed bar designed to engage a pinion to form a mechanism that will interconvert rotary and rectilinear motions

3. (Engineering / Aeronautics) a framework fixed to an aircraft for carrying bombs, rockets, etc.

4. (Historical Terms) (usually preceded by the) an instrument of torture that stretched the body of the victim

5. a cause or state of mental or bodily stress, suffering, etc.; anguish; torment (esp in the phrase on the rack)

6. (Group Games / Billiards & Snooker) US and Canadian (in pool, snooker, etc.)

a. the triangular frame used to arrange the balls for the opening shot

b. the balls so grouped Brit equivalent frame

vb (tr)

1. (Historical Terms) to torture on the rack

2. Also wrack to cause great stress or suffering to guilt racked his conscience

3. Also wrack to strain or shake (something) violently, as by great physical force the storm racked the town

4. to place or arrange in or on a rack to rack bottles of wine

5. (Engineering / Mechanical Engineering) to move (parts of machinery or a mechanism) using a toothed rack

6. to raise (rents) exorbitantly; rack-rent

rack one's brains to strain in mental effort, esp to remember something or to find the solution to a problem See also rack up

[C14 rekke, probably from Middle Dutch rec framework; related to Old High German recchen to stretch, Old Norse rekja to spread out]

racker n

Usage: See at wrack¹

rack²

destruction; wreck (obsolete except in the phrase go to rack and ruin)

[variant of wrack¹]

rack³

(Individual Sports & Recreations / Horse Training, Riding & Manège) another word for single-foot a gait of the horse

[perhaps based on rock²]

rack⁴

(Earth Sciences / Physical Geography) a group of broken clouds moving in the wind

(Earth Sciences / Physical Geography) (intr) (of clouds) to be blown along by the wind

[Old English wrǣc what is driven; related to Gothic wraks persecutor, Swedish vrak wreckage]

rack⁵

vb (tr)

1. (Miscellaneous Technologies / Brewing) to clear (wine, beer, etc.) as by siphoning it off from the dregs

2. (Miscellaneous Technologies / Brewing) to fill a container with (beer, wine, etc.)

[from Old Provençal arraca, from raca dregs of grapes after pressing]

rack⁶

(Cookery) the neck or rib section of mutton, pork, or veal

[Old English hrace; related to Old High German rahho, Danish harke, Swedish harkla to clear one's throat]

Rack a rush or shock.

Examples: rack of clouds (thin-flying, broken clouds), 1626; of water (a sudden rush), 1513.

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun	1.	rack - framework for holding objects barbecue, barbeque - a rack to hold meat for cooking over hot charcoal usually out of doors bicycle rack - a rack for parking bicycles carrier - a rack attached to a vehicle; for carrying luggage or skis or the like coat rack, coatrack, hatrack - a rack with hooks for temporarily holding coats and hats dish rack - a rack for holding dishes as dishwater drains off of them framework - a structure supporting or containing something hayrack - a rack that holds hay for feeding livestock pipe rack - a rack for holding a smoker's pipes plate rack - a rack for holding plates to dry after they have been washed tie rack - a rack for storing ties toastrack - a rack for holding slices of toast towel horse, towel rack - a rack consisting of one or more bars on which towels can be hung
	2.	rack - rib section of a forequarter of veal or pork or especially lamb or mutton cut of meat, cut - a piece of meat that has been cut from an animal carcass crown roast, rack of lamb - a roast of the rib section of lamb
	3.	rack - the destruction or collapse of something; "wrack and ruin" wrack demolition, wipeout, destruction - an event (or the result of an event) that completely destroys something
	4.	rack - an instrument of torture that stretches or disjoints or mutilates victims wheel instrument of torture - an instrument of punishment designed and used to inflict torture on the condemned person
	5.	rack - a support for displaying various articles; "the newspapers were arranged on a rack" stand bier - a stand to support a corpse or a coffin prior to burial 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 spit - a skewer for holding meat over a fire support - any device that bears the weight of another thing; "there was no place to attach supports for a shelf" tripod - a three-legged rack used for support
	6.	rack - a form of torture in which pain is inflicted by stretching the body torturing, torture - 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; "it required unnatural torturing to extract a confession"
	7.	rack - a rapid gait of a horse in which each foot strikes the ground separately single-foot gait - a horse's manner of moving
Verb	1.	rack - go at a rack; "the horses single-footed" single-foot pace - go at a pace; "The horse paced"
	2.	rack - stretch to the limits; "rack one's brains" strain, stress, try - test the limits of; "You are trying my patience!"
	3.	rack - put on a rack and pinion; "rack a camera" put to work, work - cause to work; "he is working his servants hard"
	4.	rack - 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" extort, gouge, wring, squeeze fleece, gazump, overcharge, plume, rob, soak, surcharge, hook, pluck - rip off; ask an unreasonable price bleed - get or extort (money or other possessions) from someone; "They bled me dry--I have nothing left!"
	5.	rack - run before a gale scud navigation, pilotage, piloting - the guidance of ships or airplanes from place to place sail - travel on water propelled by wind; "I love sailing, especially on the open sea"; "the ship sails on"
	6.	rack - fly in high wind fly, wing - travel through the air; be airborne; "Man cannot fly"
	7.	rack - draw off from the lees; "rack wine" draw, take out - take liquid out of a container or well; "She drew water from the barrel"
	8.	rack - torment emotionally or mentally excruciate, torment, torture anguish, pain, hurt - cause emotional anguish or make miserable; "It pains me to see my children not being taught well in school"
	9.	rack - work on a rack; "rack leather" work on, work, process - shape, form, or improve a material; "work stone into tools"; "process iron"; "work the metal"
	10.	rack - seize together, as of parallel ropes of a tackle in order to prevent running through the block clutch, prehend, seize - take hold of; grab; "The sales clerk quickly seized the money on the counter"; "She clutched her purse"; "The mother seized her child by the arm"; "Birds of prey often seize small mammals"
	11.	rack - torture on the rack excruciate, torture, torment - subject to torture; "The sinners will be tormented in Hell, according to the Bible"

rack

noun

frame, support, stand, structure, holder, shelf, framework, trestle a luggage rack

verb

torture, distress, torment, harass, afflict, oppress, harrow, crucify, agonize, pain, excruciate a teenager racked with guilt

on the rack in difficulties, suffering, in trouble, having problems, in agony, in distress, racked with pain, going through torture on the rack with a heroin addiction

rack something up sustain, experience, suffer, bear, endure, undergo, withstand, bear up under, feel The company continues to rack up huge losses.

rack your brains think hard, try to remember (informal), scratch your head, give a lot of thought to something, put your mind to something, puzzle over something As I ate, I racked my brains in a search for his identity.

Usage: The use of the spelling wrack rather than rack in sentences such as she was wracked by grief or the country was wracked by civil war is very common but is thought by many people to be incorrect.

Translations

rack¹ [ræk]

A. N

1. (= dish rack) → escurridor m, escurreplatos m inv; (= clothes rack) → perchero m, percha f; (= luggage rack) (Rail) → portaequipajes m inv, rejilla f; (= roof rack) → baca f, portaequipajes m inv, parrilla f (Andes); (= mechanical rack) → cremallera f
to buy clothes off the rack (US) → comprar ropa de percha

2. (for torture) → potro m
to be on the rack (fig) → estar en ascuas

3. (Snooker, Pool) → triángulo m

B. VT

1. [pain] → atormentar; [cough] → sacudir
to be racked by remorse → estar atormentado por el remordimiento
to be racked by pains → estar atormentado por el dolor
to rack one's brains → devanarse los sesos

2. [+ wine] (also rack off) → trasegar

C. CPD rack railway N → ferrocarril m de cremallera
rack rent N → alquiler m exorbitante

rack up VT + ADV (= accumulate) → acumular

rack² [ræk] N to go to rack and ruin [building] → echarse a perder, venirse abajo; [business] → arruinarse, tronar(LAm); [country] → arruinarse; [person] → dejarse ir

rack [ˈræk]

(for clothes) → portant m, présentoir m; (for dishes) → égouttoir m; (for bottles) → casier m; (for pipes) → râtelier m; (for vegetables) → bac m dish rack, magazine rack, pipe rack, shoe rack

(also luggage rack) (in train, bus) → porte-bagages m

(also roof rack) → galerie f

(HISTORY) the rack (= form of torture) → le chevalet

to go to rack and ruin [building] → tomber en ruine; [business, country] → péricliter

[pain, need, emotion] → tenailler
Jealousy racked him → La jalousie le tenaillait.
racked by pain → ravagé(e) par la douleur, tenaillé(e) par la douleur
racked with guilt → tenaillé(e) par la culpabilité

to rack one's brains → se creuser la cervelle

rack up

vt fus [+ profits, losses, sales] → accumuler

rack:

rack railway

n → Zahnradbahn f

rack-rent

n → Wuchermiete f

rack wheel

n (Tech) → Zahnrad nt

rack¹

(for hats, toast, pipes etc) → Ständer m; (for bottles, plates) → Gestell nt, → Ständer m; (= shelves) → Regal nt; (= luggage rack) → Gepäcknetz nt; (on car, bicycle) → Gepäckträger m; (for fodder) → Raufe f

(US Billiards) → Rahmen m

to put somebody on the rack (lit, fig) → jdn auf die Folter spannen; to be on the rack (fig) → Folterqualen leiden

(US sl) she has a nice rack → sie hat viel Holz vor der Hütte (inf)

(to cause pain, also fig) → quälen, plagen; racked with pain/by remorse → von Schmerz/Gewissensbissen gequält or geplagt

to rack one’s brains → sich (dat) → den Kopf zerbrechen, sich (dat) → den Kopf or das Hirn zermartern (inf)

(Hist) → auf die Folter spannen, auf der Folter strecken

rack²

n to go to rack and ruin (person) → verkommen, vor die Hunde gehen (inf); (country, economy) → herunterkommen, vor die Hunde gehen (inf); (building) → verfallen, in Schutt und Asche zerfallen

rack³

vt wine, beer → abfüllen

rack¹ [ræk]

1. n

a. (storage framework) → rastrelliera; (for luggage) → rete f portabagagli inv; (for hats, coats) → appendiabiti m inv; (in shops) → scaffale m
magazine rack → portariviste m inv
shoe rack → scarpiera
toast rack → portatoast m inv

b. (for torture) → cavalletto

2. vt (subj, pain, cough) → torturare, tormentare
racked by remorse → roso/a dal rimorso
to rack one's brains → scervellarsi

rack up vt + adv → accumulare

rack¹ [ræk]

1. n

b. (for torture) → cavalletto

2. vt (subj, pain, cough) → torturare, tormentare
racked by remorse → roso/a dal rimorso
to rack one's brains → scervellarsi

rack up vt + adv → accumulare

rack² [ræk] n to go to rack and ruin (building) → andare in rovina; (business) → andare in malora or a catafascio; (country) → andare a catafascio; (person) → lasciarsi andare completamente

rack [rӕk]

to think desperately hard. hard dink يُفَكِّر بِجُهْدٍ شَديد напрягам си мозъка lámat si hlavu bryde sin hjerne sich den Kopf zerbrechen σπάζω το κεφάλι μου devanarse los sesos pead murdma فکر خود را سخت به کار انداختن miettiä päänsä puhki se creuser la tête לְאַמֵץ אֶת הַמַחשָבָה बहुत सोचना razbijati glavu zbog nečega töri a fejét berpikir keras brjóta heilann scervellarsi 知恵をしぼる 고민을 하다 sukti galvą lauzīt galvu memerah otak zich de hersens pijnigen legge hodet i bløt, anstrenge hjernen sin łamać sobie głowę quebrar a cabeça a-şi frământa mintea ломать голову lámať si hlavu beliti si glavo mozgati rådbråka, pina: bry sin hjärna พยายามคิดให้ออก kafa patlatmak 絞盡腦汁 ламати голову سوچ بچار کرنا suy nghĩ mông lung 绞尽脑汁

rack¹

n rack [rӕk]

a frame or shelf in or on which objects (eg letters, plates, luggage etc) are put until they are wanted or needed Put these tools back in the rack; Put your bag in the luggage-rack. rak رَف، حامِل خَشَبي стойка police, pult, regál stativ; -stativ; hylde; -hylde das Gestell σχάρα, ράφι estante riiul گیره؛ چنگک teline porte-outils; étagère; porte-bagages, etc. כּוֹנָן, מַתלֶה रैक vješalica, spremište állvány, (poggyász)tartó rak grind, hilla, standur scaffale 棚 선반 lentyna, regztis plaukts; nodalījums rak rek stativ; hylle, reol półka prateleira raft; etajeră; portbagaj стеллаж polica, regál polica polica ställ, hylla, hållare ชั้น raf 開放式置物架 полиця; стелаж سامان رکھنے کا خانہ giá; gác 架, 行李架

rack → حامل věšák stativ Ständer ράφι estante teline étagère polica scaffale ･･･掛け 선반 rek stativ półka bagageiro, grade para bagagens полка ställ ชั้นวางของ askılık cái giá 架子

rack (redirected from racking brains)

rack
(redirected from racking brains)