Word Confusion: Rack versus Wrack

Rack is always (and only) ever used for anything to do with a framework for manipulating things. Never, ever use wrack.

Both rack and wrack can be used when referring to a torturous process: wrack and ruin can also be a rack and ruin although personally, I think that wrack tends to create more of a sense of wreckage as opposed to rack which only makes me think of some sort of cage.

One can also be racked (or wracked) with guilt or another could rack (or wrack) his or her brains. Again, I think that wrack creates more of a sense of destruction while rack tends to contain.

It’s one of the things I adore about the English language—with the proper word choice, one can be extremely precise!

Rack	Wrack
Credit to:
Part of Grammar:
Noun, Verb	Noun, Verb
Noun: Framework, usually with rails, bars, hooks, or pegs for holding or storing things. Overhead shelf on a bus, train, or plane Set of antlers [Slang] Woman’s breasts Bed [Historical] Instrument of torture Triangular structure for positioning balls in pool Digital effects unit for a guitar or other instrument Vertically barred arrangmend for holding animal fodder Lift used to repair vehicles Horse’s gait Large cut of meat, tpically lamb Mass of high, thick, fast-moving clouds Verb (transitive): Draw off wine, beer, etc. from the sediment in the barrel Place in or on a rack [Archaic] Raise the rent above a fair or normal amount [Also wrack] Cause extreme physical or mental pain to someone, something Subject to extreme stress Verb (intransitive): [Archaic] Of a cloud being driven before the wind A horse moving with such a gait	Noun: Coarse brown seaweeds that grow on the shoreline [Archaic] Wrecked ship, shipwreck Verb: [Also rack] Cause extreme physical or mental pain to someone, something Subject to extreme stress
Examples:
Noun: Get the car up on the rack. Fill up that hay rack for the cows. Verb (transitive): Rack up the balls. He’s racked up our rent! Yum! Rack of lamb! Place the cake on a wire rack to cool. Verb (intransitive): Ideally, you should train a horse to rack when they’re young.	Noun: A lot of wrack has washed up on the shore. Verb: Everything is going to wrack and ruin. He’s really having to wrack his brains for that answer!
History of the Word:
Middle English (verb) stretch, reach Late 16th century (noun) cut of meat Late 15th century (verb) dregs Middle English (verb) to drive Late Middle English wrack is a variant spelling	Early 16th century (noun) Seaweed Late Middle English (noun) Wreak, wreck Late Middle English rack is a variant spelling

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan…which words are your pet peeves?

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She is the author of the arts marketing series, Your Portfolio & You, aimed at helping artists survive (and thrive) at the business of being an artist and include Accounting for the SMALL Businessperson, How Copyright Applies to the Artist, the Buyer, the Employer/e, the Sold Artwork, Dealing with Photographs, Slides, Digital Images, and Surviving the Outdoor Arts Festival.

A huge believer in knowledge being power, Kathy has begun a free set of Author Tools for authors interested in self-editing including an online tutorial in Using Microsoft Word’s Markup Tool, words commonly confused by authors and Punctuation and Formatting Tips.

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