“Racked” or “Wracked”—Which to use?

“Racked” or “Wracked”

Overview

racked / wracked are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

racked: (verb) stretch to the limits. (verb) put on a rack and pinion. (verb) fly in high wind. (verb) draw off from the lees. (verb) work on a rack. (verb) seize together, as of parallel ropes of a tackle in order to prevent running through the block. (verb) torture on the rack.

wracked: NA

Pronunciation

racked: r·AE·k·t

wracked: r·AE·k·t

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Examples in Context

Examples of “racked”

…over the Cornhusker defenses and racked up 49 points of their…
…Abilene Christian University, but then racked up six straight wins to…
Europe was racked by two decades of war…
…us and however much you racked your brains, you could not…
…Andriy Shevchenko, and he soon racked up an impressive trophy count…
…and Major League Baseball, he racked up 1095 hits in 4002…
…of the Purdue backfield, Purdue racked up 1,206 and 17 rushing…
…innocent men and is subsequently racked by guilt.
The following season, he racked up a team-leading 530 total…
…unhappy marriage, and Gwendolen is racked by guilt when Grandcourt drowns,…

Examples of “wracked”

…immolation, expressing a diseased soul, wracked by the compromises and humiliations…
…of separatist ambitions, has been wracked by the insurgency since 1989.
…the country which was still wracked by civil war.
Meanwhile, Marcia, wracked with guilt, confesses her experiences,…
…frontier province and Iberia was wracked by revolts.

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)

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