rack

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

v. t. strain, exert; torture, distress, torment, agonize. See thought, pain. — n. single-foot, pace; frame[work]; wheel, iron maiden; scud, broken clouds. See motion, cloudiness, support.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [A frame]

Syn. holder, receptacle, framework, stand, shelf, ledge, perch, bracket, whatnot, arbor, trivet, box, counter, trestle, scaffold, stretcher, hatrack, clothes rack, hat tree, clothes tree, cake rack, bottle rack, wine rack, baker's rack, pen rack, gun rack, tie rack, towel rack; see also frame 1 .

2. [An engine of torture]

Syn. instrument of torture, wheel, iron heel, wooden horse, thumbscrew, iron maiden, boot, water rack, bed of Procrustes, peine forte et dure (French), Oregon boot*; see also torture .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

frame, framework, stand, holder, scaffolding, grating, hack, flake.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) verb 1. To bring great harm or suffering to: afflict, agonize, anguish, curse, excruciate, plague, scourge, smite, strike, torment, torture. See ATTACK, HELP. 2. To subject (another) to extreme physical cruelty, as in punishing: crucify, torment, torture. Idiom: put on the rack (or wheel). See PAIN, REWARD.