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

See Examples For:

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

Are you one of these guys who wants the towels to hang on the rack just so?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 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

A skier who was looking at headlines on the newspapers on the rack near the door overheard the conversation between Matt and Mr. Minch.

From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary