rack
rack /r'æk/ (racks racking racked)
The spelling wrack is also used, mainly for meanings 2 and 3, and mainly in old-fashioned or American English.
1 [N-COUNT] oft supp N
A rack is a frame or shelf, usually with bars or hooks, that is used for holding things or for hanging things on.
My rucksack was too big for the luggage rack...
see also roof rack, toast rack
2 [VERB] usu passive, be V-ed by/with n, V-ed
If someone is racked by something such as illness or anxiety, it causes them great suffering or pain.
His already infirm body was racked by high fever...
...a teenager racked with guilt and anxiety.
see also racking
3 [PHRASE] V and N inflect
If you rack your brains, you try very hard to think of something.
She began to rack her brains to remember what had happened at the nursing home.
4 [PHRASE] usu PHR after v
If you say that someone is on the rack, you mean that they are suffering either physically or mentally. (JOURNALISM)
Only a year ago, he was on the rack with a heroin addiction that began when he was 13.
5 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that a place is going to rack and ruin, you are emphasizing that it is slowly becoming less attractive or less pleasant because no-one is bothering to look after it.
6 [PHRASE] PHR n, PHR after v
Off-the-rack clothes or goods are made in large numbers, rather than being made specially for a particular person. (AM; in BRIT, use off-the-peg)
...the same off-the-rack dress she's been wearing since the night before...lug|gage rack (luggage racks)
1 [N-COUNT]
A luggage rack is a shelf for putting luggage on, on a vehicle such as a train or bus.
2 [N-COUNT]
A luggage rack is a metal frame that is fixed on top of a car and used for carrying large objects. (AM; in BRIT, use roof rack)rack up
[PHRASAL VERB] no passive, V P n (not pron)
If a business racks up profits, losses, or sales, it makes a lot of them. If a sportsman, sportswoman, or team racks up wins, they win a lot of matches or races.
Lower rates mean that firms are more likely to rack up profits in the coming months...roof rack (roof racks)
also roof-rack
[N-COUNT]
A roof rack is a metal frame that is fixed on top of a car and used for carrying large objects. (BRIT; in AM, use luggage rack)toast rack (toast racks)
[N-COUNT]
A toast rack is an object that is designed to hold pieces of toast in an upright position and separate from each other, ready for people to eat.
The spelling wrack is also used, mainly for meanings 2 and 3, and mainly in old-fashioned or American English.
1 [N-COUNT] oft supp N
A rack is a frame or shelf, usually with bars or hooks, that is used for holding things or for hanging things on.
My rucksack was too big for the luggage rack...
see also roof rack, toast rack
2 [VERB] usu passive, be V-ed by/with n, V-ed
If someone is racked by something such as illness or anxiety, it causes them great suffering or pain.
His already infirm body was racked by high fever...
...a teenager racked with guilt and anxiety.
see also racking
3 [PHRASE] V and N inflect
If you rack your brains, you try very hard to think of something.
She began to rack her brains to remember what had happened at the nursing home.
4 [PHRASE] usu PHR after v
If you say that someone is on the rack, you mean that they are suffering either physically or mentally. (JOURNALISM)
Only a year ago, he was on the rack with a heroin addiction that began when he was 13.
5 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that a place is going to rack and ruin, you are emphasizing that it is slowly becoming less attractive or less pleasant because no-one is bothering to look after it.
6 [PHRASE] PHR n, PHR after v
Off-the-rack clothes or goods are made in large numbers, rather than being made specially for a particular person. (AM; in BRIT, use off-the-peg)
...the same off-the-rack dress she's been wearing since the night before...lug|gage rack (luggage racks)
1 [N-COUNT]
A luggage rack is a shelf for putting luggage on, on a vehicle such as a train or bus.
2 [N-COUNT]
A luggage rack is a metal frame that is fixed on top of a car and used for carrying large objects. (AM; in BRIT, use roof rack)rack up
[PHRASAL VERB] no passive, V P n (not pron)
If a business racks up profits, losses, or sales, it makes a lot of them. If a sportsman, sportswoman, or team racks up wins, they win a lot of matches or races.
Lower rates mean that firms are more likely to rack up profits in the coming months...roof rack (roof racks)
also roof-rack
[N-COUNT]
A roof rack is a metal frame that is fixed on top of a car and used for carrying large objects. (BRIT; in AM, use luggage rack)toast rack (toast racks)
[N-COUNT]
A toast rack is an object that is designed to hold pieces of toast in an upright position and separate from each other, ready for people to eat.