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Antonyms for racked

Grammar : Verb
Spell : rak
Phonetic Transcription : ræk

Definition of racked

Origin :
  • "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.
  • verb torture; strain
Example sentences :
  • In silence the three of us racked our brains for a means of defence.
  • Extract from : « Astounding Stories of Super-Science September 1930 » by Various
  • You racked your brains to discover the cause of this change.
  • Extract from : « The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, Complete » by Duc de Saint-Simon
  • His body was racked with pain, and his head seemed enormous.
  • Extract from : « In the Orbit of Saturn » by Roman Frederick Starzl
  • The hardness of the ice beneath the snow surface had racked his body in every joint.
  • Extract from : « Murder Point » by Coningsby Dawson
  • He had racked his brain to find so much as one, all day long.
  • Extract from : « Dr. Sevier » by George W. Cable
  • He racked his brains, and suddenly bethought him of another move.
  • Extract from : « The Twins of Suffering Creek » by Ridgwell Cullum
  • On the instant, however, I racked my brain for some persuasive argument.
  • Extract from : « Tales of Fishes » by Zane Grey
  • The solitude of the racked victim was particularly horrible to behold.
  • Extract from : « Under Western Eyes » by Joseph Conrad
  • He racked his brain for a stray gleam of retrospect, but it was not forthcoming.
  • Extract from : « Garrison's Finish » by W. B. M. Ferguson
  • I hover over my racked body like a ghost, and exist in an interregnum.
  • Extract from : « Dreamers of the Ghetto » by I. Zangwill

Synonyms for racked

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019