wrack

CEFRC2

/ɹæk/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    Seaweed or other material thrown onto the shore.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Ruin; destruction.

Examples

  • Stormy waves washed seaweed and wrack onto the shore.

  • The storm left a large amount of wrack on the beach this morning.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Vengeance; revenge; persecution; punishment; consequence; trouble.

  2. The remains of something; a wreck.

verb

Extra meaning

  1. To execute vengeance on; avenge.

More examples

In context

  • To wrack your brain means to try very hard to remember a thing.

  • Lytle was already moaning in shame, fallen back in bed with his hand across his face like he'd just washed up somewhere, a piece of wrack.

  • The dead mans corps hath made ſome Serpents weépe, / Such rewth may ryſe in beaſts of bloudy race: / And yet can man (which bragges aboue the reſt) / Uſe wracke for rewth? can murder like him beſt?

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Severe pain can blank the body all night despite strong medicine.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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.