1. n. A series of one or more shelves, stacked one above the other
2. n. Any of various kinds of frame for holding clothes, bottles, animal fodder, mined ore, shot on a vessel, etc.
3. n. (nautical) A piece or frame of wood, having several sheaves, through which the running rigging passes.
4. n. (nautical, slang) A bunk.
5. n. A distaff.
6. n. 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.
7. n. A bar with teeth on its face or edge, to work with a pawl as a ratchet allowing movement in one direction only, used for example in a handbrake or crossbow.
8. n. A device, incorporating a ratchet, used to torture victims by stretching them beyond their natural limits.
9. n. A cranequin, a mechanism including a rack, pinion and pawl, providing both mechanical advantage and a ratchet, used to bend and cock a crossbow.
10. n. A set of antlers (as on deer, moose or elk).
11. n. A cut of meat involving several adjacent ribs.
I bought a rack of lamb at the butcher's yesterday.
12. n. (billiards, snooker, pool) A hollow triangle used for aligning the balls at the start of a game.
13. n. (slang) A woman's breasts.
14. n. (climbing, caving) A friction device for abseiling, consisting of a frame with five or more metal bars, around which the rope is threaded.
rappel rack
abseil rack
15. n. (climbing, slang) A climber's set of equipment for setting up protection and belays, consisting of runners, slings, carabiners, nuts, Friends, etc.
I used almost a full rack on the second pitch.
16. n. A grate on which bacon is laid.
17. n. (obsolete) That which is extorted; exaction.
18. n. (algebra) A set with a distributive binary operation whose result is unique.
19. v. To place in or hang on a rack.
20. v. To torture (someone) on the rack.
21. v. To cause (someone) to suffer pain.
22. v. (figurative) To stretch or strain; to harass, or oppress by extortion.
23. v. (billiards, snooker, pool) To put the balls into the triangular rack and set them in place on the table.
24. v. (slang) To strike a male in the groin with the knee.
25. v. To (manually) load (a round of ammunition) from the magazine or belt into firing position in an automatic or semiautomatic firearm.
26. v. (mining) To wash (metals, ore, etc.) on a rack.
27. v. (nautical) To bind together, as two ropes, with cross turns of yarn, marline, etc.
28. v. To move the slide bar on a shotgun in order to chamber the next round
If you're going to have to use it defensively, have the shotgun already loaded and ready for use. The last thing you want to have to do is rack the slide, which could give away your position, i
29. v. To stretch a person's joints.
30. v. To drive; move; go forward rapidly; stir
31. v. To fly, as vapour or broken clouds
32. n. Thin, flying, broken clouds, or any portion of floating vapour in the sky.
33. v. (brewing) To clarify, and thereby deter further fermentation of, beer, wine or cider by draining or siphoning it from the dregs.
34. v. (of a horse) To amble fast, causing a rocking or swaying motion of the body; to pace.
