racking

[rak-ing]

noun

Masonry.

1. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of racking¹

First recorded in 1890–95; rack ¹ + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Dallas, meanwhile, is racking up the yards and has scored 40, 37, 27 and 44 in the past four weeks.

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With more than 9,000 children falling ill since the scheme was rolled out in January, critics are questioning whether it's delivering at all, or straining public resources while racking up debt.

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He became the founding member of the 50/50 club, racking up 54 homers and 59 stolen bases.

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Then, he didn’t let another runner reach base until the sixth, racking up nine strikeouts along the way.

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Perhaps the most grotesque episode features the boys salvaging their grandmother’s hot tub, promising Dad they’ll keep it clean and then contracting some kind of gruesome, racking bronchial affliction that coughs up another moral.

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Related Words

• arduous 
• backbreaking 
• brutal 
• demanding 
• excruciating 
• exhausting 
• fierce 
• laborious 
• punishing 
• strenuous 
• tiring www.thesaurus.com
• torturous 
• trying