Chiefly Midland U.S. Also a large, usually rectangular stack or pile of hay, straw, corn, or the like, in a field, especially when thatched or covered by a tarpaulin; an outdoor or makeshift mow.
a stack of cordwood or logs cut to even lengths.
a frame of horizontal bars and vertical supports, as used to hold barrels in a distillery, boxes in a warehouse, etc.
to form grain into a stack or pile.
to stack (cordwood) in ricks.
before 900; Middle English rek ( e ), reek, Old English hrēac; akin to Old Norse hraukr, Old Frisian reak, Middle Dutch rooc, roke
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Looking ahead: “Inflation is proving difficult to fully eliminate,” said Steve Rick, chief economist at financial-services provider TruStage.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026
“I’ve never heard of that happening before,” said former federal prosecutor Rick Mountcastle, speaking generally about DOJ protocols.
From Salon • Jun. 10, 2026
“I think we are at a pretty critical juncture,” says Rick Bandazian, a trader and founder of Offsides Macro, a trading analytics platform.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
Burke was also the first guy in that Dodgers clubhouse to crack a joke when the team needed it, his former teammate Rick Monday said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026
A man, not in uniform, detached himself from the spot at which he had been standing; he approached Rick Deckard at a measured, unruffled pace, gazing at him curiously.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
