on the rack

Idioms  

1. Under great stress, as in I was on the rack while I waited for the test results. This expression, alluding to a medieval instrument of torture to which the victim was fastened and stretched, has been used figuratively since the late 1500s. Shakespeare had it in The Merchant of Venice (3:2): “Let me choose, for as I am I live upon the rack.”

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Example Sentences

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on the rack

When more people shopped in physical stores, processing a return was often a matter putting an item back on the rack.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 17, 2025

Rave to the car that flashed its lights and rave to the very kind and helpful person who stopped to help me retrieve my bike and put it back on the rack.

From Seattle Times ● May 4, 2024

By the time Mainoo had put away the most glorious finish United were 2-1 up and Liverpool were the ones on the rack and Klopp looked like he was ready to explode on the touchline.

From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2024

The other woman buys the first pair on the rack, without even checking if it's her size.

From Salon ● Nov. 28, 2023

The day after I put mine under my bed, he took them out and put them back on the rack.

From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger