rack

Meaning

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. 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. A bunk.
6. 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. To place in or hang on a rack.
14. To torture (someone) on the rack.
15. To cause (someone) to suffer pain.
16. To stretch or strain; to harass, or oppress by extortion.
17. To alternately concatenate two words to magical effect.
18. To put the balls into the triangular rack and set them in place on the table.
19. To strike in the testicles.
20. To shoplift (especially in a megastore), often by taking off of a rack.
21. To take that which belongs to another, without regard of right or permission.
22. To (manually) load (a round of ammunition) from the magazine or belt into firing position in an automatic or semiautomatic firearm.
23. To move the slide bar on a shotgun in order to chamber the next round.
24. To wash (metals, ore, etc.) on a rack.
25. To drive; move; go forward rapidly; stir.
26. To fly, as vapour or broken clouds.
27. Thin, flying, broken clouds, or any portion of floating vapour in the sky.
28. To clarify, and thereby deter further fermentation of, beer, wine or cider by draining or siphoning it from the dregs.
29. To amble fast, causing a rocking or swaying motion of the body; to pace.
30. A fast amble.
31. A wreck; destruction.
32. A young rabbit, or its skin.
33. Alternative form of arak.
34. Initialism of risk-aware consensual kink.

Etymology / origin

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

Related words

Descendant words

• räkki(Finnish) (bor)
• rakar(Ido) (bor)
• rak(Malay) (bor)

Sources

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