noun
Meaning 1
The remains of something; a wreck.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
wrack
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/ɹæk/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -æk
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homophone: rack
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CMU ARPABET: R AE1 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
Vengeance; revenge; persecution; punishment; consequence; trouble.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, archaic, dialectal, literary
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
Ruin; destruction.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: dialectal
Qualifier: archaic except UK
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
Remnant from a shipwreck as washed ashore; flotsam or jetsam.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
The right to claim such items.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
Any marine vegetation cast up on shore, especially seaweed of the family Fucaceae.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 7
Weeds, vegetation, or rubbish floating on a river or pond.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 8
A high, flying cloud; a rack.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 9
To execute vengeance on; avenge.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, dialectal, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 10
To worry; tease; torment.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, dialectal, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 11
To wreck, especially a ship.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Qualifier: usually passive voice
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 12
Alternative form of rack (“to cause to suffer pain, etc.”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, alternative
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 13
dried seaweed especially that cast ashore
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: seaweed
noun
Meaning 14
growth of marine vegetation especially of the large forms such as rockweeds and kelp
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: sea wrack
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: seaweed
noun
Meaning 15
the destruction or collapse of something
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- wrack and ruin
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: rack
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: destruction, demolition, wipeout
verb
Meaning 16
smash or break forcefully
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- The kid busted up the car
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: bust up, wreck
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: destroy, ruin
History
Etymology
From Middle English wrake, wrache, wreche, from a merger of Old English wracu, wræc (“misery, suffering”) and Old English wrǣċ (“vengeance, revenge”). See also wrake.
Late Middle English, from Middle Dutch wrak, ultimately related to Proto-Germanic *wrekaną (“to drive out”), the source of wreak and wreck. Doublet of vraic. Cognate with German Wrack, Old Norse rek, Danish vrag, Swedish vrak, Old English wræc); also compare Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (wrikan), 𐍅𐍂𐌰𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wrakjan, “persecute”), Old Norse reka (“drive”).
Across languages
Translations
18 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Dutch: wraak — archaic or literary: revenge, persecution
- Korean: 복수 (boksu) — archaic or literary: revenge, persecution
- Korean: 박해 (bakhae) — archaic or literary: revenge, persecution
- German: Wrack — archaic, except in dialects: ruin, destruction
- Korean: 파멸 (pamyeol) — archaic, except in dialects: ruin, destruction
- Korean: 파괴 (pagoe) — archaic, except in dialects: ruin, destruction
- Czech: vrak — the remains, a wreck
- German: Wrack — the remains, a wreck
- Hungarian: roncs — the remains, a wreck
- Korean: 잔해 (janhae) — the remains, a wreck
- Spanish: pecio — the remains, a wreck
- Spanish: restos — the remains, a wreck
- Spanish: pecio — (archaic) remnant from a shipwreck as washed ashore, or the right to claim such items
- French: goémon — any marine vegetation cast up on shore, especially seaweed of the genus Fucus
- Galician: carballa — any marine vegetation cast up on shore, especially seaweed of the genus Fucus
- Portuguese: algaço — any marine vegetation cast up on shore, especially seaweed of the genus Fucus
- Welsh: môr-wialen — any marine vegetation cast up on shore, especially seaweed of the genus Fucus
- Welsh: morwiail — any marine vegetation cast up on shore, especially seaweed of the genus Fucus