Rack vs. Crack — What's the Difference?
By Urooj Arif & Fiza Rafique — Updated on April 25, 2024
Rack involves stretching or causing distress, often used metaphorically for mental strain; crack refers to a break or fissure, or a sharp sound, and is also slang for a witty remark.
Difference Between Rack and Crack
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
A rack is a framework or shelf for holding items, enhancing organization and storage, while crack can mean a narrow opening caused by the splitting of a solid material.
In terms of physical strain, to rack means to torture or cause great distress, often used in the phrase "rack one’s brains", whereas to crack can involve breaking something so that it becomes inoperative.
The word rack, when used metaphorically, suggests severe stress as in "being racked with guilt", on the other hand, crack used metaphorically often refers to finding an ingenious solution to a problem, as in "crack the code".
Rack also describes a severe, often continuous pain, whereas crack can describe a sudden sharp sound, indicating the breaking or snapping of something.
In terms of usage variation, rack has culinary applications, like a rack of lamb, while crack is used in the context of software or security to denote unauthorized or illegal breaching, such as "cracking a password".
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Comparison Chart
Definition
A framework or shelf; to cause strain
A break or split; to break or make a joke
Usage in Torture
To torture or distress someone
Not applicable in this context
Metaphorical Use
Indicative of stress or pain
Finding solutions or causing breaks
Sound Association
Generally no sound association
Often associated with a sharp sound
Example in Cooking
Rack of ribs, rack of lamb
Crack an egg, crack open a nut
Compare with Definitions
Rack
As a noun, a rack is a structure with shelves for storing items.
She placed the dishes on the kitchen rack.
Crack
To crack something means to break it without complete separation.
He accidentally cracked the window.
Rack
To rack someone can mean to torture or cause severe pain.
The medieval torture device was used to rack prisoners.
Crack
In the context of jokes, a crack can be a witty or cutting remark.
His crack about the situation lightened the mood.
Rack
In billiards, rack refers to the arrangement of the balls at the start of a game.
He finished setting the rack for the pool game.
Crack
To crack a software means to modify it to remove usage restrictions.
Piracy often involves cracking software illegally.
Rack
A rack can also be a rib section of a lamb or other meats.
They served a beautifully cooked rack of lamb for dinner.
Crack
As a noun, crack refers to a narrow opening or fissure.
Light shone through the crack in the door.
Rack
Rack up refers to accumulating or gathering something.
He racked up numerous awards throughout his career.
Crack
Crack is used as slang for performing or attempting something difficult.
He had a crack at solving the complex equation.
Rack
A framework, typically with rails, bars, hooks, or pegs, for holding or storing things
A spice rack
A letter rack
Crack
To break without complete separation of parts
The mirror cracked.
Rack
A cogged or toothed bar or rail engaging with a wheel or pinion, or using pegs to adjust the position of something
A steering rack
Crack
To break or snap apart
The branch cracked off and fell.
Rack
An instrument of torture consisting of a frame on which the victim was stretched by turning rollers to which the wrists and ankles were tied.
Crack
To make a sharp snapping sound
His knees cracked as he sat down.
Rack
A triangular structure for positioning the balls in pool.
Crack
To break down; fail
The defendant's composure finally began to crack.
Rack
A set of antlers
Moose have the most impressive racks of all the antlered animals
Crack
To have a mental or physical breakdown
Cracked under the pressure.
Rack
A bed.
Crack
To change sharply in pitch or timbre, as from hoarseness or emotion. Used of the voice.
Rack
A horse's gait in which both hoofs on either side in turn are lifted almost simultaneously, and all four hoofs are off the ground together at certain moments.
Crack
To move or go rapidly
Was cracking along at 70 miles an hour.
Rack
A mass of high, thick, fast-moving clouds
There was a thin moon, a rack of cloud
Crack
(Chemistry) To break into simpler molecules, often by means of heat or a catalyst.
Rack
A joint of meat, typically lamb, that includes the front ribs.
Crack
To cause to break without complete separation of parts
The pebble cracked the car's windshield.
Rack
Cause extreme pain, anguish, or distress to
He was racked with guilt
Crack
To cause to break with a sharp snapping sound
Crack nuts.
Rack
Place in or on a rack
The shoes were racked neatly beneath the dresses
Crack
To crush (corn or wheat, for example) into small pieces.
Rack
Move by a rack and pinion.
Crack
To strike, especially with a sharp sound
Cracked the intruder over the head with a lamp.
Rack
Raise (rent) above a fair or normal amount.
Crack
To cause to come into forceful contact with something, especially with a sharp sound
Fell and cracked his head against the floor.
Rack
(of a horse) move with a rack gait.
Crack
To open to a slight extent
Crack a window to let in some air.
Rack
Go away
‘Rack off mate, or you're going to cop it,’ he bellowed
Crack
To break open or into
Crack a safe.
Rack
(of a cloud) be driven before the wind
A thin shred of cloud racking across the moon
Crack
To open up for use or consumption
Crack a book.
Cracked a beer.
Rack
Draw off (wine, beer, etc.) from the sediment in the barrel
The wine is racked off into large oak casks
Crack
To break through (an obstacle) in order to win acceptance or acknowledgment
Finally cracked the "men-only" rule at the club.
Rack
A framework or stand in or on which to hold, hang, or display various articles
A trophy rack.
A rack for baseball bats in the dugout.
A drying rack for laundry.
Crack
To discover the solution to, especially after considerable effort
Crack a code.
Rack
(Games) A triangular frame for arranging billiard or pool balls at the start of a game.
Crack
To cause (the voice) to crack.
Rack
A receptacle for livestock feed.
Crack
(Informal) To tell (a joke), especially on impulse or in an effective manner.
Rack
A frame for holding bombs in an aircraft.
Crack
To cause to have a mental or physical breakdown.
Rack
A bunk or bed.
Crack
To impair or destroy
Their rude remarks cracked his equanimity.
Rack
Sleep
Tried to get some rack.
Crack
To reduce (petroleum) to simpler compounds by cracking.
Rack
A toothed bar that meshes with a gearwheel, pinion, or other toothed machine part.
Crack
A partial split or break; a fissure
Cracks in the basement wall.
Rack
A state of intense anguish.
Crack
A slight narrow space
The window was open a crack.
Rack
A cause of intense anguish.
Crack
(Informal) The fissure between the buttocks.
Rack
An instrument of torture on which the victim's body was stretched.
Crack
A defect or flaw
Cracks in the argument.
A crack in his composure.
Rack
A pair of antlers.
Crack
A sharp snapping sound, such as the report of a firearm.
Rack
A fast, flashy, four-beat gait of a horse in which each foot touches the ground separately and at equal intervals.
Crack
A sharp resounding blow
Gave him a crack on the head.
Rack
A thin mass of wind-driven clouds.
Crack
A breaking, harshly dissonant vocal tone or sound, as in hoarseness.
Rack
Variant of wrack1.
Crack
An attempt or try
Gave him a crack at the job.
Took a crack at photography.
Rack
Variant of wrack2.
Crack
A witty or sarcastic remark.
Rack
A wholesale rib cut of lamb or veal between the shoulder and the loin.
Crack
A moment; an instant
At the crack of dawn.
Rack
A retail rib cut of lamb or veal, prepared for roasting or for rib chops.
Crack
(Irish) Fun had when socializing; social amusement.
Rack
The neck and upper spine of mutton, pork, or veal.
Crack
(Slang) Crack cocaine.
Rack
To place (billiard balls, for example) in a rack.
Crack
Excelling in skill or achievement; first-rate
A crack shot.
A crack tennis player.
Rack
Also wrack To cause great physical or mental suffering to
Pain racked his entire body.
Crack
(intransitive) To form cracks.
It's been so dry, the ground is starting to crack.
Rack
To torture by means of the rack.
Crack
(intransitive) To break apart under force, stress, or pressure.
When I tried to stand on the chair, it cracked.
Rack
To go or move at a rack.
Crack
(intransitive) To become debilitated by psychological pressure.
Anyone would crack after being hounded like that.
Rack
To drain (wine or cider) from the dregs.
Crack
(intransitive) To break down or yield, especially under interrogation or torture.
When we showed him the pictures of the murder scene, he cracked.
Rack
A series of one or more shelves, stacked one above the other
Crack
(intransitive) To make a cracking sound.
The bat cracked with authority and the ball went for six.
Rack
Any of various kinds of frame for holding luggage or other objects on a vehicle or vessel.
Crack
To change rapidly in register.
His voice cracked with emotion.
Rack
(historical) A device, incorporating a ratchet, used to torture victims by stretching them beyond their natural limits.
Crack
To alternate between high and low register in the process of eventually lowering.
His voice finally cracked when he was fourteen.
Rack
(nautical) A piece or frame of wood, having several sheaves, through which the running rigging passes.
Crack
(intransitive) To make a sharply humorous comment.
"I would too, with a face like that," she cracked.
Rack
A bunk.
Crack
To realize that one is transgender.
She cracked at age 22 and came out to her friends and family over the next few months.
Rack
Sleep.
Crack
(transitive) To make a crack or cracks in.
The ball cracked the window.
Rack
A distaff.
Crack
(transitive) To break open or crush to small pieces by impact or stress.
You'll need a hammer to crack a black walnut.
Rack
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.
Crack
(transitive) To strike forcefully.
She cracked him over the head with her handbag.
Rack
(mechanical engineering) 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.
Crack
(transitive) To open slightly.
Could you please crack the window?
Rack
A cranequin, a mechanism including a rack, pinion and pawl, providing both mechanical advantage and a ratchet, used to bend and cock a crossbow.
Crack
To cause to yield under interrogation or other pressure.
They managed to crack him on the third day.
Rack
A set of antlers (as on deer, moose or elk).
Crack
To solve a difficult problem.
I've finally cracked it, and of course the answer is obvious in hindsight.
Rack
A cut of meat involving several adjacent ribs.
I bought a rack of lamb at the butcher's yesterday.
Crack
(transitive) To overcome a security system or component.
It took a minute to crack the lock, three minutes to crack the security system, and about twenty minutes to crack the safe.
They finally cracked the code.
Rack
A hollow triangle used for aligning the balls at the start of a game.
Crack
(transitive) To cause to make a sharp sound.
To crack a whip
Rack
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
Crack
(transitive) To tell (a joke).
The performance was fine until he cracked that dead baby joke.
Rack
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.
Crack
To break down (a complex molecule), especially with the application of heat: to pyrolyse.
Acetone is cracked to ketene and methane at 700°C.
Rack
A grate on which bacon is laid.
Crack
To circumvent software restrictions such as regional coding or time limits.
That software licence will expire tomorrow unless we can crack it.
Rack
(algebra) A set with a distributive binary operation whose result is unique.
Crack
To open a canned beverage, or any packaged drink or food.
I'd love to crack open a beer.
Let's crack a tube and watch the game.
Rack
A thousand pounds (£1,000), especially if proceeds of crime
Crack
(obsolete) To brag; to boast.
Rack
Thin, flying, broken clouds, or any portion of floating vapour in the sky.
Crack
To be ruined or impaired; to fail.
Rack
A fast amble.
Crack
(colloquial) To barely reach, attain to (a measurement, extent).
An underground band that never cracked the Hot 100
Rack
(obsolete) A wreck; destruction.
Crack
A thin and usually jagged space opened in a previously solid material.
A large crack had formed in the roadway.
Rack
To place in or hang on a rack.
Crack
A narrow opening.
We managed to squeeze through a crack in the rock wall.
Open the door a crack.
Rack
To torture (someone) on the rack.
Crack
A sharply humorous comment; a wisecrack.
I didn't appreciate that crack about my hairstyle.
Rack
To cause (someone) to suffer pain.
Crack
(slang) Crack cocaine, a potent, relatively cheap, addictive variety of cocaine; often a rock, usually smoked through a crack-pipe.
Crack head
Rack
(figurative) To stretch or strain; to harass, or oppress by extortion.
Crack
Something good-tasting or habit-forming.
Rack
To put the balls into the triangular rack and set them in place on the table.
Crack
(onomatopoeia) The sharp sound made when solid material breaks.
The crack of the falling branch could be heard for miles.
Rack
To strike in the testicles.
Crack
(onomatopoeia) Any sharp sound.
The crack of the bat hitting the ball.
Rack
(firearms) To (manually) load (a round of ammunition) from the magazine or belt into firing position in an automatic or semiautomatic firearm.
Crack
A sharp, resounding blow.
Rack
(firearms) To move the slide bar on a shotgun in order to chamber the next round.
Crack
(informal) An attempt at something.
I'd like to take a crack at that game.
Rack
(mining) To wash (metals, ore, etc.) on a rack.
Crack
Vagina.
Rack
(nautical) To bind together, as two ropes, with cross turns of yarn, marline, etc.
Crack
(informal) The space between the buttocks.
Pull up your pants! Your crack is showing.
Rack
(structural engineering) To tend to shear a structure (that is, force it to bend, lean, or move in different directions at different points).
Post-and-lintel construction racks easily.
Crack
Conviviality; fun; good conversation, chat, gossip, or humorous storytelling; good company.
The party was great crack.
Rack
To drive; move; go forward rapidly; stir.
Crack
Business; events; news.
What's the crack?
What's this crack about a possible merger?
Rack
To fly, as vapour or broken clouds.
Crack
(computing) A program or procedure designed to circumvent restrictions or usage limits on software.
Has anyone got a crack for DocumentWriter 3.0?
Rack
(brewing) To clarify, and thereby deter further fermentation of, beer, wine or cider by draining or siphoning it from the dregs.
Crack
An expanding circle of white water surrounding the site of a large explosion at shallow depth, marking the progress of the shock wave through the air above the water.A nuclear explosion in shallow water; the crack is clearly visible on the water's surface.
Rack
(of a horse) To amble fast, causing a rocking or swaying motion of the body; to pace.
Crack
A meaningful chat.
Rack
Same as Arrack.
Crack
(Internet slang) Extremely silly, absurd or off-the-wall ideas or prose.
Rack
The neck and spine of a fore quarter of veal or mutton.
Crack
The tone of voice when changed at puberty.
Rack
A wreck; destruction.
Crack
(archaic) A mental flaw; a touch of craziness; partial insanity.
He has a crack.
Rack
Thin, flying, broken clouds, or any portion of floating vapor in the sky.
The winds in the upper region, which move the clouds above, which we call the rack, . . . pass without noise.
And the night rack came rolling up.
Crack
(archaic) A crazy or crack-brained person.
Rack
A fast amble.
Crack
(obsolete) A boast; boasting.
Rack
An instrument or frame used for stretching, extending, retaining, or displaying, something.
During the troubles of the fifteenth century, a rack was introduced into the Tower, and was occasionally used under the plea of political necessity.
Crack
(obsolete) Breach of chastity.
Rack
An instrument for bending a bow.
Crack
(obsolete) A boy, generally a pert, lively boy.
Rack
A bar with teeth on its face, or edge, to work with those of a wheel, pinion, or worm, which is to drive it or be driven by it.
Crack
A brief time; an instant; a jiffy.
I'll be with you in a crack.
Rack
That which is extorted; exaction.
A fit of the stone puts a king to the rack, and makes him as miserable as it does the meanest subject.
Crack
(obsolete) One who excels; the best.
Rack
To fly, as vapor or broken clouds.
Crack
Highly trained and competent.
Even a crack team of investigators would have trouble solving this case.
Rack
To amble fast, causing a rocking or swaying motion of the body; to pace; - said of a horse.
Crack
Excellent, first-rate, superior, top-notch.
She's a crack shot with that rifle.
Rack
To draw off from the lees or sediment, as wine.
It is in common practice to draw wine or beer from the lees (which we call racking), whereby it will clarify much the sooner.
Crack
To break or burst, with or without entire separation of the parts; as, to crack glass; to crack nuts.
Rack
To extend by the application of force; to stretch or strain; specifically, to stretch on the rack or wheel; to torture by an engine which strains the limbs and pulls the joints.
He was racked and miserably tormented.
Crack
To rend with grief or pain; to affect deeply with sorrow; hence, to disorder; to distract; to craze.
O, madam, my old heart is cracked.
He thought none poets till their brains were cracked.
Rack
To torment; to torture; to affect with extreme pain or anguish.
Vaunting aloud but racked with deep despair.
Crack
To cause to sound suddenly and sharply; to snap; as, to crack a whip.
Rack
To stretch or strain, in a figurative sense; hence, to harass, or oppress by extortion.
The landlords there shamefully rack their tenants.
They [landlords] rack their rents an ace too high.
Grant that I may never rack a Scripture simile beyond the true intent thereof.
Try what my credit can in Venice do;That shall be racked even to the uttermost.
Crack
To utter smartly and sententiously; as, to crack a joke.
Rack
To wash on a rack, as metals or ore.
Crack
To cry up; to extol; - followed by up.
Rack
To bind together, as two ropes, with cross turns of yarn, marline, etc.
Crack
To burst or open in chinks; to break, with or without quite separating into parts.
By misfortune it cracked in the coling.
The mirror cracked from side to side.
Rack
Framework for holding objects
Crack
To be ruined or impaired; to fail.
The credit . . . of exchequers cracks, when little comes in and much goes out.
Rack
Rib section of a forequarter of veal or pork or especially lamb or mutton
Crack
To utter a loud or sharp, sudden sound.
As thunder when the clouds in autumn crack.
Rack
The destruction or collapse of something;
Wrack and ruin
Crack
To utter vain, pompous words; to brag; to boast; - with of.
Ethoipes of their sweet complexion crack.
Rack
An instrument of torture that stretches or disjoints or mutilates victims
Crack
A partial separation of parts, with or without a perceptible opening; a chink or fissure; a narrow breach; a crevice; as, a crack in timber, or in a wall, or in glass.
Rack
A support for displaying various articles;
The newspapers were arranged on a rack
Crack
Rupture; flaw; breach, in a moral sense.
My love to thee is sound, sans crack or flaw.
Rack
A rapid gait of a horse in which each foot strikes the ground separately
Crack
A sharp, sudden sound or report; the sound of anything suddenly burst or broken; as, the crack of a falling house; the crack of thunder; the crack of a whip.
Will the stretch out to the crack of doom?
Rack
Go at a rack;
The horses single-footed
Crack
The tone of voice when changed at puberty.
Though now our voicesHave got the mannish crack.
Rack
Stretch to the limits;
Rack one's brains
Crack
Mental flaw; a touch of craziness; partial insanity; as, he has a crack.
Rack
Put on a rack and pinion;
Rack a camera
Crack
A crazy or crack-brained person.
I . . . can not get the Parliament to listen to me, who look upon me as a crack and a projector.
Rack
Obtain by coercion or intimidation;
They extorted money from the executive by threatening to reveal his past to the company boss
They squeezed money from the owner of the business by threatening him
Crack
A boast; boasting.
Rack
Run before a gale
Crack
Breach of chastity.
Rack
Fly in high wind
Crack
A boy, generally a pert, lively boy.
Val. 'T is a noble child. Vir. A crack, madam.
Rack
Draw off from the lees;
Rack wine
Crack
A brief time; an instant; as, to be with one in a crack.
Rack
Torment emotionally or mentally
Crack
Free conversation; friendly chat.
What is crack in English? . . . A crack is . . . a chat with a good, kindly human heart in it.
Rack
Work on a rack;
Rack leather
Crack
A witty remark; a wisecrack.
Rack
Seize together, as of parallel ropes of a tackle in order to prevent running through the block
Crack
A chance or opportunity to do something; an attempt; as, I'll take a crack at it.
Rack
Torture on the rack
Crack
A form of cocaine, highly purified and prepared as small pellets, especially suitable for smoking; - also called rock. Used in this form it appears to be more addicting than cocaine powder.
Crack
Of superior excellence; having qualities to be boasted of; as, a crack shot.
One of our crack speakers in the Commons.
Crack
A long narrow opening
Crack
A narrow opening;
He opened the window a crack
Crack
A long narrow depression in a surface
Crack
A sudden sharp noise;
The crack of a whip
He heard the cracking of the ice
He can hear the snap of a twig
Crack
A chance to do something;
He wanted a shot at the champion
Crack
Witty remark
Crack
A blemish resulting from a break without complete separation of the parts;
There was a crack in the mirror
Crack
A purified and potent form of cocaine that is smoked rather than snorted
Crack
A usually brief attempt;
He took a crack at it
I gave it a whirl
Crack
The act of cracking something
Crack
Become fractured; break or crack on the surface only;
The glass cracked when it was heated
Crack
Make a very sharp explosive sound;
His gun cracked
Crack
Make a sharp sound;
His fingers snapped
Crack
Hit forcefully; deal a hard blow, making a cracking noise;
The teacher cracked him across the face with a ruler
Crack
Pass through (a barrier);
Registrations cracked through the 30,000 mark in the county
Crack
Break partially but keep its integrity;
The glass cracked
Crack
Break suddenly and abruptly, as under tension;
The rope snapped
Crack
Suffer a nervous breakdown
Crack
Tell spontaneously;
Crack a joke
Crack
Cause to become cracked;
Heat and light cracked the back of the leather chair
Crack
Reduce (petroleum) to a simpler compound by cracking
Crack
Break into simpler molecules by means of heat;
The petroleum cracked
Crack
Of the highest quality;
An ace reporter
A crack shot
A first-rate golfer
A super party
Played top-notch tennis
An athlete in tiptop condition
She is absolutely tops
Common Curiosities
What does "cracked" mean in terms of voice or sound?
When referring to a voice, "cracked" implies that the voice is rough or breaks, often because of strain or emotion.
Is "rack" ever used in a sports context?
Yes, in sports like billiards, "rack" refers to the device used to arrange the balls into the required starting formation.
What are the implications of cracking a joke?
Cracking a joke usually means telling a humorous or witty remark intended to amuse others, often lightening the atmosphere.
How does "crack" relate to computers or technology?
In technology, "crack" typically refers to breaking into a computer system, bypassing security measures, or removing software restrictions.
How is "crack" used in the context of social situations?
In social contexts, "have a crack at" something implies taking an attempt or giving something a try, often informally.
What kinds of problems might "crack" refer to in construction or materials?
In construction and materials, a crack often signifies structural damage, such as in walls, pavements, or other built surfaces, indicating potential weakness or failure.
What materials typically feature racks?
Racks are commonly made from materials like metal, wood, or plastic, depending on their intended use, such as in kitchens, garages, or warehouses.
Can the term crack be used positively?
Yes, crack can be used positively, particularly in phrases like "crack a joke" or "crack the code," which imply wit or cleverness.
Is there a physical item called a crack?
No, a crack refers to the space or fissure that forms when a material breaks or splits, rather than a physical object itself.
Can "rack" refer to anything in the animal world?
In a specific context, "rack" can refer to the antlers of large deer, particularly when they are in a full, spread-out display.
Is "rack" used in any phrases or idioms?
Yes, common idiomatic expressions include "off the rack," referring to clothes that are ready-made and sold in stores, and "rack one's brain," meaning to think very hard.
What are the environmental implications of cracks?
Environmentally, cracks in landscapes, like in the earth or ice formations, can signal natural changes or damage, potentially affecting ecosystems and human structures.
What is the primary use of a rack?
Primarily, a rack is used for storage and organization, holding items securely in a structured manner.
How does the term rack relate to pain?
The term rack is often used metaphorically to describe intense, often agonizing pain or stress, such as being racked with pain.
What does it mean to crack an egg?
To crack an egg means to break its shell to release the contents, typically in preparation for cooking.
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Written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
