Definition of Rack
Rack
rack
Definition/Meaning
(noun)
a structure or framework, often consisting of bars, rods, pegs, and/or hooks, used for storing or holding things;
e.g. She had a rack in her room for placing her shoes.
(noun)
a rod/bar with teeth or gears, that engages with wheels or pinions in order to transform rotatory motion to linear motion to adjust the position or direction of something;
e.g. The steering rack of the car is malfunctioning and needs repairs.
(noun)
in historical usage, a torture device in which the victim is tied to a frame by their wrists and ankles and then stretched by turning rollers on either end;
e.g. The thief was sentenced to the rack to be tortured.
(noun)
the triangular frame used to arrange the cue balls in a game of billiards/pool, or the balls thus positioned in the frame, or a single game of billiards/pool;
e.g. They decided to play one last rack before retiring for the evening.
(noun)
in American usage, the pair of antlers belonging to an animal such as a deer or a moose;
e.g. In the forest, we found a rack that had been shed by a deer.
(noun)
in informal American usage, a bed or "the sack" (usually used as "hit the rack");
e.g. He was feeling sleepy so he decided to hit the rack.
(verb)
to torture someone, either literally (e.g. on a rack) or figuratively, as in subjecting them to intense distress, anguish, pain, or ruin;
e.g. The guilt of acting in that way will rack you for many days.
(verb)
to place something in or on a rack;
e.g. She told her children to rack their shoes neatly by the door.
(verb)
to work or move something using a rack and pinion such that it expands or contracts;
e.g. There was a wheel to rack the machine's arm back and forth.
(verb)
to strain something by stretching it violently and/or excessively, especially to raise rents to oppressively high amounts that harass tenants;
e.g. The landlord plans to rack up the rent in the building.
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