romperse la cabeza

to rack one’s brain; to think very hard

→ romper
phrase Rare #44,466
to rack one’s brain; to think very hard As an idiom, it means to make a great effort to think or solve a problem. It can also be used literally to mean to break one’s head, depending on context. The pronoun and verb change according to the person involved, for example, me rompo la cabeza or te rompo la cabeza.
SP: Tuve que romperse la cabeza para encontrar una solución.
EN: I had to rack my brain to find a solution.