Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

rack one's brain

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.75 in modern English

Syllables: rack- one's brain
IPA

21

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

2

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To struggle to think of or remember something.

Example Sentences

"I have been racking my brain all day trying to think of a birthday present for her."
"Let’s face it – math isn’t for everyone. If you’re done racking your brains over a question based on quadratic equations, differential calculus, or even lengthy word problems, and can’t for the life of you figure out what’s what, then perhaps it’s time you let ChatGPT take up the role of a home tutor."

Etymology

Combination of rack (“medieval torture method”), and brain, thus meaning “to cause the mind extreme discomfort”. Variants include rack one's wit (1583) and rack one's memory, as well as cudgel one's brain / cudgel one's brains.

Inflected Forms

racks one's brain (present, singular) racking one's brain (participle, present) racked one's brain (participle, past) racked one's brain (past) rack one's brains (alternative) wrack one's brain (alternative) wrack one's brains (alternative)

Phrases

beat one's brains

Frequently Paired Words

beat one's brains

Questions

What does rack one's brain mean?: To struggle to think of or remember something.
Where does rack one's brain come from?: Combination of rack (“medieval torture method”), and brain, thus meaning “to cause the mind extreme discomfort”. Variants include rack one's wit (1583) and rack one's memory, as well as cudgel one's brain / cudgel one's brains.

How to pronounce rack one's brain

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