# racking

Pronunciation: say "RAK-ing" /ˈɹækɪŋ/

## Verb

1. Present participle and gerund of rack. — present participle and gerund of rack
   - Simple: Present participle and gerund of rack. Use it after is, was or are, or as a noun for the act.
   - _Fits of coughing kept racking her thin frame through the night._
   - _The new clerk spent the afternoon racking bottles in the wine cellar._

## Adjective

2. Alternative spelling of wracking. — Alternative spelling of wracking.
   - Simple: Another way to spell wracking. It describes pain or trouble that is very hard to bear.
   - _Days of racking cramps left him too weak to stand._
   - _Waiting for the test results was a racking experience for the whole family._

## Noun

3. The process of draining or siphoning beer, wine or cider off its dregs, which clears the liquid and so deters further fermentation.
   - Simple: Taking beer, wine or cider off the sludge at the bottom so it clears and ferments less.
   - _After a second racking, the cider was clear enough to bottle._
   - _Careful racking leaves the spent yeast behind in the old fermenter._
4. A method of laying asphalt shingles in which the courses are applied vertically, straight up the roof, rather than across it and then up.
   - Simple: A way of putting shingles on a roof in rows that go straight up, not across.
   - _The crew switched to racking on the tall, narrow section above the porch._
   - _The shingle maker's installation guide advises against racking on this product line._
5. Spun yarn used for racking ropes on board a ship.
   - Simple: Thin twisted cord that sailors use to bind ropes together.
   - _The bosun cut a length of racking and seized the two lines together._
   - _We ran short of racking halfway through rigging the new tackle._

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/racking (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).