rack

Everyday

1. A rack is a frame or shelf with bars, hooks or spaces for holding things, such as a coat rack, a bike rack or a toast rack. tree →
2. To rack your brains is to think very hard to remember or solve something. tree →
3. «Rack up» means to collect or gain a lot, like points. tree →
4. A rack was also a wooden frame used in the past to torture people by stretching their bodies. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life racks hold bikes at school, dishes by the sink, coats in the hall and cooling cakes in the kitchen. In school maths or games you can «rack up points». Phrases: «bike rack», «coat rack», «cooling rack», «rack your brains», «rack up points», «off the rack».

Examples

• Lock your bike to the bike rack. tree →
• Hang your coat on the rack by the door. tree →
• Put the hot cookies on a cooling rack. tree →
• I racked my brains but couldn't remember her name. tree →
• Our team racked up twenty points. tree →
• The dishes are drying in the rack. tree →
• Put the shoes back on the shoe rack. tree →
• Hans takes Gretel, ties her to a rope, leads her to the rack, and binds her fast. tree →

Note

Countable: rack, racks. Past: «racked». «Rack your brains» is the usual spelling (sometimes «wrack»). «Nerve-racking» means making you very nervous.