rack one's brain

English

Alternative forms

• rack one's brains
• wrack one's brain
• wrack one's brains

Etymology

Combination of rack (v), a medieval torture method, and brain, thus meaning to cause the mind extreme discomfort.

Verb

rack one's brain

1. (idiomatic) To struggle to think of or remember something.

   I have been racking my brain all day trying to think of a birthday present for her.

Translations

struggle to think of something

Chinese: Mandarin: 絞盡腦汁 (zh), 绞尽脑汁 (zh) (jiǎojìn nǎozhī) Finnish: miettiä päänsä puhki (fi) German: sich den Kopf zerbrechen

Hungarian: töri a fejét (hu) Icelandic: brjóta heilann (is) Italian: scervellare Russian: ломать голову (ru) (lomát' gólovu) impf. Turkish: kafa patlatmak (tr)