rack

1 noun (C)

1 a frame or shelf, usually with bars or hooks, for holding things on: The dishes are on the plate rack. | a magazine rack

—see also: luggage rack, roof­rack

2 the rack a piece of equipment used in the past to make people suffer severe pain by stretching their bodies

3 on the rack suffering severe pain or anxiety

4 go to rack and ruin to gradually get into a very bad condition as a result of not being looked after: The old farmhouse had gone to rack and ruin.

5 AmE a three-sided frame used for arranging the balls at the start of a game of snooker 1 or pool 1 (3)

6 a rack of lamb/pork BrE a fairly large piece of meat from the side of an animal

2 verb

1 (transitive usually passive) to make someone suffer great mental or physical pain: be racked by/with: She was racked by feelings of guilt. | He lay on the ground racked with pain.

2 rack your brain(s) to think very hard or for a long time: I really had to rack my brains to remember his name.

rack sth up phrasal verb (T) informal

1 AmE to gradually get points, votes etc, especially in a competition or election: The team racked up enough points to win the NFL title.

2 AmE to damage or ruin something: That motorcycle accident really racked up his leg.

3 to make the value, amount, or level of something go up: High interest rates have racked up the pound.