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PlainSpell

rack

/ɹæk/noun, verb

rack is spelled R-A-C-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 7.9 times per million words in written English, the 8,266th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “rack vs wrack” about 590 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, rack means “A series of one or more shelves, stacked one above the other” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of rack is racks.

How many letters and syllables are in rack?

Letters4: R-A-C-K
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing7.9 times per million words; the 8,266th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Sounds like
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is rack?

Rack appears 7.9 times per million words in written English, the 8,266th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce rack?

  • US /ɹæk/
  • British /ɹak/
  • /ɾak/

Rack has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-rack.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-rack.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with rack

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

rack vs wrack590 G

Sounds like: wrack (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Also written: arak, wrack.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with rack?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as rack from its last stressed vowel (/æk/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: cark.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of rack

  • racks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • racking participle, present
  • racked participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does rack mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A series of one or more shelves, stacked one above the other.

  2. 2

    Any of various kinds of frame for holding luggage or other objects on a vehicle or vessel.

  3. 3

    A device, incorporating a ratchet, used to torture victims by stretching them beyond their natural limits.

  4. 4

    A piece or frame of wood, having several sheaves, through which the running rigging passes.

  5. 5

    slangA bunk.

  6. 6

    slangSleep.

  7. 7

    A distaff.

  8. 8

    A bar with teeth on its face or edge, to work with those of a gearwheel, pinion, or worm, which is to drive or be driven by it.

    Holonym: rack and pinion

  9. 9

    Thin, flying, broken clouds, or any portion of floating vapour in the sky.

  10. 10

    A fast amble.

  11. 11

    obsoleteA wreck; destruction.

  12. 12

    obsoleteA young rabbit, or its skin.

  13. 13

    Alternative form of arak.

verb

  1. 1

    To place in or hang on a rack.

  2. 2

    To torture (someone) on the rack.

  3. 3

    To cause (someone) to suffer pain.

  4. 4

    To stretch or strain; to harass, or oppress by extortion.

  5. 5

    obsoleteTo alternately concatenate two words to magical effect.

  6. 6

    To put the balls into the triangular rack and set them in place on the table.

  7. 7

    slangTo strike in the testicles.

  8. 8

    slangTo shoplift (especially in a megastore), often by taking off of a rack.

    He racked three boxes of gum!

  9. 9

    To drive; move; go forward rapidly; stir.

  10. 10

    To fly, as vapour or broken clouds.

  11. 11

    To clarify, and thereby deter further fermentation of, beer, wine or cider by draining or siphoning it from the dregs.

  12. 12

    To amble fast, causing a rocking or swaying motion of the body; to pace.

noun

as RACK
  1. 1

    Initialism of risk-aware consensual kink.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate rack?

Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of rack: TRB, TRG.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Rack in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchétagère (series of shelves), chevalet (torture device), carré (cut of meat), balcon, devanture (woman's breasts)
GermanRegal (series of shelves), Streckbank (torture device), Holz vor der Hütte (woman's breasts), abstechen (brewing: to clarify by draining or siphoning…)
Portugueseestante, armário, compartimentos (series of shelves), cavalete, ecúleo (torture device), prateleira (woman's breasts)
Spanishestante, estantería (series of shelves), potro, ecúleo (torture device), pechamen (woman's breasts), perchero (frame for hanging objects)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does rack come from?

From Middle English rakke, rekke, from Middle Dutch rac, recke, rec (Dutch rek), see rekken.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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