racking

[ rak-ing ]

/ ˈræk ɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR racking ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Masonry.

the stepping back of the ends of courses successively from bottom to top in an unfinished wall to facilitate resumption of work or bonding with an intersecting wall.

Nearby words

racing flag, racing form, racing skate, racism, racist, racking, rack and pinion, rack and ruin, go to, rack car, rack locomotive, rack off

Origin of racking

First recorded in 1890–95; rack¹ + -ing¹

Definition for racking (2 of 5)

rack

[ rak ]

/ ræk /

noun

a framework of bars, wires, or pegs on which articles are arranged or deposited: a clothes rack; a luggage rack.

a fixture containing several tiered shelves, often affixed to a wall: a book rack; a spice rack.

a spreading framework set on a wagon for carrying hay, straw, or the like, in large loads.

Pool.

a wooden frame of triangular shape within which the balls are arranged before play.
the balls so arranged: He took aim at the rack.

Machinery.

a bar, with teeth on one of its sides, adapted to engage with the teeth of a pinion (rack and pinion) or the like, as for converting circular into rectilinear motion or vice versa.
a bar having a series of notches engaging with a pawl or the like.

a former instrument of torture consisting of a framework on which a victim was tied, often spread-eagled, by the wrists and ankles, to be slowly stretched by spreading the parts of the framework.

a cause or state of intense suffering of body or mind.

torment; anguish.

violent strain.

a pair of antlers.

Slang. a bed, cot, or bunk: I spent all afternoon in the rack.

verb (used with object)

to torture; distress acutely; torment: His body was racked with pain.

to strain in mental effort: to rack one's brains.

to strain by physical force or violence.

to strain beyond what is normal or usual.

to stretch the body of (a person) in torture by means of a rack.

Nautical. to seize (two ropes) together side by side.

Verb Phrases

rack out, Slang. to go to bed; go to sleep: I racked out all afternoon.

rack up,

Pool. to put (the balls) in a rack.
Informal. to tally, accumulate, or amass as an achievement or score: The corporation racked up the greatest profits in its history.

Origin of rack

1250–1300; Middle English rakke, rekke (noun) < Middle Dutch rac, rec, recke; compare Middle Low German reck, German Reck

SYNONYMS FOR rack

7 torture, pain, agony, tribulation, ordeal.

12 See torment.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rack ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsrack·ing·ly, adverb

Can be confusedrack wrack wreak wreckracked wracked wreaked wrecked

Definition for racking (3 of 5)

rack

[ rak ]

/ ræk /

noun

the fast pace of a horse in which the legs move in lateral pairs but not simultaneously.

verb (used without object)

(of horses) to move in a rack.

Origin of rack

First recorded in 1570–80; perhaps variant of rock²

Definition for racking (4 of 5)

rack

⁴

or wrack

[ rak ]

/ ræk /

noun

Also called cloud rack. a group of drifting clouds.

verb (used without object)

to drive or move, especially before the wind.

Origin of rack

⁴

1350–1400; Middle English rak, reck(e); origin uncertain

Definition for racking (5 of 5)

rack

⁵

[ rak ]

/ ræk /

verb (used with object)

to draw off (wine, cider, etc.) from the lees.

Origin of rack

⁵

1425–75; late Middle English < Old French; compare obsolete French raqué (of wine) pressed from the dregs of grapes

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for racking

And though Republicans are racking up minority leaders at the national level, it continues to face a fundamental obstacle.
The Republican Rainbow Coalition Is Real|Tim Mak|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Everyone wanted to keep Winston on the field, racking up wins and alumni donations.
Hey NFL Fans: Ray Rice Isn’t the Problem. You Are.|Steve Almond|July 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After racking up seven Hopalong Cassidy movies, Mitchum got himself an RKO contract for $350.
The Stacks: Mr. Bad Taste and Trouble Himself: Robert Mitchum|Robert Ward|July 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Not coincidentally, his weekly is basking in the spotlight—and racking up huge sales—while performing this “service.”
Warsawgate Rocks Poland|Andrew Nagorski|June 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Posted on YouTube earlier this week, the video went viral, racking up more than 50,000 views in three days.
Can Ukraine Control Its Far Right Ultranationalists?|Oleg Shynkarenko|March 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
During our first ten miles' ride I was racking my brain for something to say when I should jump up to make my first sale.
Twenty Years of Hus'ling|J. P. Johnston
"Mother, I want to speak to you," he said, addressing Mrs Baxter in a voice which clearly proved the strain of these racking days.
Seventeen|Booth Tarkington
Racking them up on the electronic tracker, he turned back to Gaillard, "Let her go!"
On the Trail of the Space Pirates|Carey Rockwell
He pranced around for fifteen minutes, and I pretended to be racking my brain.
Lady of the Decoration|Frances Little
The room was full of boys; it was just before study hour, and how to tell David of the dog, was racking Joe's powers of mind.
Five Little Peppers at School|Margaret Sidney

British Dictionary definitions for racking (1 of 6)

rack

/ (ræk) /

noun

a framework for holding, carrying, or displaying a specific load or objecta plate rack; a hat rack; a hay rack; a luggage rack

a toothed bar designed to engage a pinion to form a mechanism that will interconvert rotary and rectilinear motions

a framework fixed to an aircraft for carrying bombs, rockets, etc

the rack an instrument of torture that stretched the body of the victim

a cause or state of mental or bodily stress, suffering, etc; anguish; torment (esp in the phrase on the rack)

slang, mainly US a woman's breasts

US and Canadian (in pool, snooker, etc)

the triangular frame used to arrange the balls for the opening shot
the balls so groupedBrit equivalent: frame

verb (tr)

to torture on the rack

Also: wrack to cause great stress or suffering toguilt racked his conscience

Also: wrack to strain or shake (something) violently, as by great physical forcethe storm racked the town

to place or arrange in or on a rackto rack bottles of wine

to move (parts of machinery or a mechanism) using a toothed rack

to raise (rents) exorbitantly; rack-rent

rack one's brains to strain in mental effort, esp to remember something or to find the solution to a problem

Word Origin for rack

C14 rekke, probably from Middle Dutch rec framework; related to Old High German recchen to stretch, Old Norse rekja to spread out

xref

See wrack 1

British Dictionary definitions for racking (2 of 6)

rack

/ (ræk) /

noun

destruction; wreck (obsolete except in the phrase go to rack and ruin)

Word Origin for rack

C16: variant of wrack 1

British Dictionary definitions for racking (3 of 6)

rack

/ (ræk) /

noun

another word for single-foot, a gait of the horse

Word Origin for rack

C16: perhaps based on rock ²

British Dictionary definitions for racking (4 of 6)

rack

⁴

/ (ræk) /

noun

a group of broken clouds moving in the wind

verb

(intr) (of clouds) to be blown along by the wind

Word Origin for rack

Old English wrǣc what is driven; related to Gothic wraks persecutor, Swedish vrak wreckage

British Dictionary definitions for racking (5 of 6)

rack

⁵

/ (ræk) /

verb (tr)

to clear (wine, beer, etc) as by siphoning it off from the dregs

to fill a container with (beer, wine, etc)

Word Origin for rack

C15: from Old Provençal arraca, from raca dregs of grapes after pressing

British Dictionary definitions for racking (6 of 6)

rack

⁶

/ (ræk) /

noun

the neck or rib section of mutton, pork, or veal

Word Origin for rack

Old English hrace; related to Old High German rahho, Danish harke, Swedish harkla to clear one's throat

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for racking (1 of 5)

rack

n.1

"frame with bars," c.1300, possibly from Middle Dutch rec "framework," literally "something stretched out, related to recken (modern rekken) "stretch out," cognate with Old English reccan "to stretch out," from Proto-Germanic *rak- (cf. Old Saxon rekkian, Old Frisian reza, Old Norse rekja, Old High German recchen, German recken, Gothic uf-rakjan "to stretch out"), from PIE *rog-, from root *reg- "to move in a straight line" (see regal).

Meaning "instrument of torture" first recorded early 15c., perhaps from German rackbank, originally an implement for stretching leather, etc. Mechanical meaning "toothed bar" is from 1797 (see pinion). Meaning "set of antlers" is first attested 1945, American English; hence slang sense of "a woman's breasts" (especially if large), by 1991. Meaning "framework for displaying clothes" is from 1948; hence off the rack (1951) of clothing, as opposed to tailored.

Word Origin and History for racking (1 of 5)

rack

n.2

type of gait of a horse, 1580s, from rack (v.) "move with a fast, lively gait" 1520s in this sense (implied in racking), of unknown origin; perhaps from French racquassure "racking of a horse in his pace," itself of unknown origin. Or perhaps a variant of rock (v.1).

Word Origin and History for racking (2 of 5)

rack

n.3

"clouds driven before the wind," c.1300, also "rush of wind, collision, crash," originally a northern word, possibly from Old English racu "cloud" (or an unrecorded Scandinavian cognate of it), reinforced by Old Norse rek "wreckage, jetsam," or by influence of Old English wræc "something driven;" from Proto-Germanic *wrakaz, from PIE root *wreg- "to push, shove" (see wreak-). Often confused with wrack (n.), especially in phrase rack and ruin (1590s). The distinction is that rack is "driven clouds;" wrack is "seaweed cast up on shore."

Word Origin and History for racking (3 of 5)

rack

"to stretch out for drying," also "to torture on the rack," early 15c., from rack (n.1). Of other pains from 1580s. Figurative sense of "to torment" is from c.1600. Meaning "raise above a fair level" (of rent, etc.) is from 1550s. Meaning "fit with racks" is from 1580s. Teenager slang meaning "to sleep" is from 1960s (rack (n.) was Navy slang for "bed" in 1940s). Related: Racked; racking. Rack up "register, accumulate, achieve" is first attested 1943 (in "Billboard"), probably from method of keeping score in pool halls.

Word Origin and History for racking (4 of 5)

rack

n.4

"cut of animal meat and bones," 1560s, of unknown origin; perhaps from some resemblance to rack (n.1). Cf. rack-bone "vertebrae" (1610s).

Idioms and Phrases with racking

rack

In addition to the idioms beginning with rack

rack and ruin, go to
rack one's brain
rack out
rack up

also see:

on the rack

racking

noun Masonry.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of racking

Definition for racking (2 of 5)

rack

noun

verb (used with object)

Verb Phrases

Origin of rack

Definition for racking (3 of 5)

rack

noun

verb (used without object)

Origin of rack

Definition for racking (4 of 5)

rack

or wrack

noun

verb (used without object)

Origin of rack

Definition for racking (5 of 5)

rack

verb (used with object)

Origin of rack

Examples from the Web for racking

British Dictionary definitions for racking (1 of 6)

rack

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for rack

xref

British Dictionary definitions for racking (2 of 6)

rack

noun

Word Origin for rack

British Dictionary definitions for racking (3 of 6)

rack

noun

Word Origin for rack

British Dictionary definitions for racking (4 of 6)

rack

noun

verb

Word Origin for rack

British Dictionary definitions for racking (5 of 6)

rack

verb (tr)

Word Origin for rack

British Dictionary definitions for racking (6 of 6)

rack

noun

Word Origin for rack

Word Origin and History for racking (1 of 5)

rack

Word Origin and History for racking (1 of 5)

rack

Word Origin and History for racking (2 of 5)

rack

Word Origin and History for racking (3 of 5)

rack

Word Origin and History for racking (4 of 5)

rack

Idioms and Phrases with racking

rack