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.
Ay, but I fear you speak upon the rack, / Where men enforced do speak anything.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
During the troubles of the fifteenth century, a rack was introduced into the Tower, and was occasionally used under the plea of political necessity.1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter I, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
4
Nautical, Transport A piece or frame of wood, having several sheaves, through which the running rigging passes.
Chief Stevens approached my rack and repeatedly ordered me to vacate my rack and report to the working party.2008, Byron L. Smith, Prescription Music, →ISBN, page 33:
By the time I had unpacked my sea bag, made my rack, and finished a good long hot shower, it was late in the evening.2010, Herb Brewer, Chronicles of a Marine Rifleman: Vietnam, 1965-1966, →ISBN, page 171:
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I took off my helmet, sat it gently down at the head of my rack on the wooden deck, plopped my butt down on my rack again, and began taking off my stateside assbusting boots.2016, Cpl. Osborn R. E, Like Killing Rats, →ISBN:
Do I have to do this now? Like, I really need to get some rack.2009 December 18, 1:00:07 from the start, in Avatar, spoken by Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), 20th Century Fox:
Just beyond that station the first step is encountered and the rack resorted to, taking the line on a gradient of 1 in 9 over a steeply inclined bridge and through a spiral tunnel.1950 November, H. P. White, “The Furka-Oberalp Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 767:
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The ladder-type Riggenbach rack is the one in use on both systems.1960 December, 'Voyageur', “The Mountain Railways of the Bernese Oberland”, in Trains Illustrated, page 750:
9
Engineering, Mechanical, Mechanical engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences 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.
I bought a rack of lamb at the butcher's yesterday.
The Par quadratum […] Their Use is to bend the Racks of the Loins with a right Motion forward or downward, but when one only acts, it draws the Loins to one Side somewhat downwards.1722, William Gibson, The Farrier's New Guide, page 65:
Racks, the bones of a dead horse. Term used by horse-slaughterers.1873, Slang Dictionary, John Camden Hotten:
Caving, Climbing, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A friction device for abseiling, consisting of a frame with five or more metal bars, around which the rope is threaded.
rappel rack
abseil rack
18
Climbing, Hobbies, Lifestyle, SportsSlang A climber's set of equipment for setting up protection and belays, consisting of runners, slings, carabiners, nuts, Friends, etc.
I used almost a full rack on the second pitch.
19
A grate on which bacon is laid.
20
Algebra, Mathematics, Sciences A set with a distributive binary operation whose action on the set is invertible.
21
Slang A thousand dollars, especially if the proceeds are from a crime.
He was racked and miserably tormented.1563 March 30 (Gregorian calendar), John Foxe, Actes and Monuments of These Latter and Perillous Dayes, […], London: […] Iohn Day, […], →OCLC:
As the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt later recalled, his father, Henry VII's jewel-house keeper Henry Wyatt, had been racked on the orders of Richard III, who had sat there and watched.2011, Thomas Penn, Winter King, Penguin, published 2012, page 228:
3
To cause (someone) to suffer pain.
Vaunting aloud but racked with deep despair.1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
4
Figuratively To stretch or strain; to harass, or oppress by extortion.
Try what my credit can in Venice do; / That shall be racked even to the uttermost.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
The landlords there most shamefully rack their tenants.1596 (date written; published 1633), Edmund Spenser, A Vewe of the Present State of Irelande […], Dublin: […] Societie of Stationers, […], →OCLC; republished as A View of the State of Ireland […] (Ancient Irish Histories), Dublin: […] Society of Stationers, […] Hibernia Press, […] [b]y John Morrison, 1809, →OCLC:
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Grant that I may never rack a Scripture Similie, beyond the true intent thereof.1645, Thomas Fuller, “Scripture Observations”, in Good Thoughts in Bad Times, […], Exeter, Devon: […] Thomas Hunt, →OCLC, section I, page 69:
Foꝛ when we heare one racke the name of God,/Abiure the ſcriptures, and his Sauiour Chꝛiſt...1589–1592 (date written), Ch[ristopher] Marl[owe], The Tragicall History of D. Faustus. […], London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Thomas Bushell, published 1604, →OCLC, signature B2, recto:
Bike7125 raises a great point suggesting that cups could have been recommended "optional" equipment in school PE. I never got racked by a baseball or softball, but we did have a gym teacher, who insisted on a weekly session of a "cruelty sport" called bombardment. The idea was to throw basketballs at a line of guys, and try to hit them. (Guess where most gym bullys aimed!)1999 November 2, Squad Leader, “CUPS Required for Gym Class?”, in alt.support.jock-strap (Usenet):
8
Slang To shoplift (especially in a megastore), often by taking off of a rack.
He racked three boxes of gum!
my buddy used to go racking for spray paint at the home despot. then a banger shot him in the head one night.^([sic])2007 May 4, streetwords, Urban Dictionary:
9
Broadly To take that which belongs to another, without regard of right or permission.
10
Engineering, Firearms, Government, Military, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Politics, Tools, War, Weaponry To (manually) load (a round of ammunition) from the magazine or belt into firing position in an automatic or semiautomatic firearm.
Nautical, Transport 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).
Structural engineering
Post-and-lintel construction racks easily.
The racking strength of a wall system is defined in terms of its ability to resist horizontal inplane shear forces. The shear, or racking, forces which act on wail systems arise primarily from wind.1977, Roger L. Tuomi, David S. Gromala, “Racking Strength of Walls”, in USDA Forest Service Research Paper, number FPL 301:
Etymology From Middle English reken, from Old Norse reka (“to be drifted, tost”) The noun is from Middle English rak, rakke, from Middle English rek (“drift; thing tossed ashore; jetsam”), from the verb.
1
To drive; move; go forward rapidly; stir.
2
To fly, as vapour or broken clouds.
rack
noun
Etymology From Middle English reken, from Old Norse reka (“to be drifted, tost”) The noun is from Middle English rak, rakke, from Middle English rek (“drift; thing tossed ashore; jetsam”), from the verb.
1
Thin, flying, broken clouds, or any portion of floating vapour in the sky.
The winds in the upper region, which move the clouds above, which we call the rack, […] pass without noise.1669, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum or A Natural History in ten Centuries, page 32:
And the night rack came rolling up.1851, Charles Kingsley, Three Fishers:
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Sometime we see a cloud that's dragonish ... That which is now a horse ... The rack dislimns, and makes it indistinctc. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene xiv]:
rack
verb
Etymology Inherited from Middle English rakken.
1
Beverages, Brewing, Business, Food, Lifestyle, Manufacturing To clarify, and thereby deter further fermentation of, beer, wine or cider by draining or siphoning it from the dregs.
It is in common practice to draw wine or beer from the lees (which we call racking), whereby it will clarify much the sooner.1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
The Darwin administrator, J.C. Archer, with great ceremony, turned on the flow to rack the precious golden stuff into casks.1987, Keith Dunstan, The Amber Nectar, Ringwood: Vicking O'Neil, page 108:
rack
noun
Etymology See rack (“that which stretches”), or rock (verb).
1
A fast amble.
rack
verb
Etymology See rack (“that which stretches”), or rock (verb).
1
Of a horse To amble fast, causing a rocking or swaying motion of the body; to pace.
The other two (only racking, no thorough-paced protestants) watched their opportunity to run away1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):
All goes to rack.1665 September 18 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “September 9th, 1665”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume V, London: George Bell & Sons […]; Cambridge: Deighton Bell & Co., published 1895, →OCLC:
Now, sir, you would say a skin is a skin, we say it is a ' whole,' or a 'half,' or a 'quarter,' or a 'rack,' or a 'sucker. Suckers are skins of infant rabbits, and of little value. Eight racks are equal to one whole.1869 February 13, “Rabbit Skin”, in All the Year Round, page 247:
The skin of a sucker is white, of a quarter, black and white striped, of a rack all black, and of a best all white.1879, Ure's Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines, page 380:
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Those would be of different shades of colour according to the time of year at which they were produced, those bred about May-day undergoing no change from their white colour, but from a white rack become a whole skin; […]1882, Bees, rabbits, and pigeons; how to breed and how to rear them:
Rabbit skins are sorted into wholes, halves, quarters, racks, and suckers, or very small skins.1892, Henry Poland, Fur-bearing Animals in Nature and in Commerce, page 289: