What does "rack" mean in this context?
He racked the seat back and started the engine.

It's not quite intuitive to me since there is no rack on a seat, at least not that I know of.
Does it mean to push it backwards? I looked up a dictionary but none of the definitions seem to fit in this context.

Thanks in advance.

Question

What does "rack" mean in this context?
He racked the seat back and started the engine.

It's not quite intuitive to me since there is no rack on a seat, at least not that I know of.
Does it mean to push it backwards? I looked up a dictionary but none of the definitions seem to fit in this context.

Thanks in advance.

Answer

He racked the seat back and started the engine.

In this example, you are correct in assuming that "racked the seat back" means to push it backwards. Depending on the context of where you were reading this example, it could imply that the "push backwards" was done with aggression or passion.

Answer

I think your intuition is correct and that he pushed his seat back. Rack could mean pushing back beyond a normal amount, so perhaps he pushed it beyond where the seat would normally be.