cracker

American  

[krak-er] / ˈkræk ər /

noun

1. a thin, crisp biscuit.

2. a firecracker.

3. Also called cracker bonbon.  a small paper roll used as a party favor, that usually contains candy, trinkets, etc., and that pops when pulled sharply at one or both ends.

4. (initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of Georgia or Florida (used as a nickname).

5. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a white person in the South, especially a poor white living in some rural parts of the southeastern U.S.

6. Slang. black hat.

7. snapper.

8. braggart; boaster.

9. a person or thing that cracks.

10. a chemical reactor used for cracking.

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adjective

1. Informal. crackers, wild; crazy.

   They went crackers over the new styles.

cracker British  

/ ˈkrækə /

noun

1. a decorated cardboard tube that emits a bang when pulled apart, releasing a toy, a joke, or a paper hat

2. short for firecracker

3. a thin crisp biscuit, usually unsweetened

4. a person or thing that cracks

5. offensive another word for poor White

6. slang a thing or person of notable qualities or abilities

7. informal worthless; useless

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Sensitive Note

The term cracker is used as a neutral nickname by inhabitants of Georgia and Florida; it is a positive term of self-reference. But when the nickname is used by outsiders, it is usually with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting by Georgians and Floridians. Cracker is always disparaging and offensive when used to refer to a poor white person in the South; the word in this sense often implies that the person is regarded as ignorant or uneducated. When used by Black people, cracker can refer to a Southern white racist, not necessarily poor or rural. See also Cracker State.

Etymology

Origin of cracker

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English craker; see crack, -er ¹; cracker defs. 4, 5 were perhaps originally in sense “braggart,” applied to frontiersmen of the southern American colonies in the 1760s, though subsequently given other interpretations ( cf. corn-cracker); cracker for def. 11 crackers “crazy,” cf. cracked, -ers

Explanation

A cracker is a snack. It’s a thin, savory, crisp biscuit, like a saltine. It’s also anything that cracks, like a firecracker or a computer code cracker, or of course, that thin, savory snack that cracks when you break it. Besides a baked wafer, another kind of cracker is a noisemaker — either a small firework that makes a sharp bang, or the kind that snaps loudly when you pull its colorful paper wrapper apart. Cracker can also be used as an offensive term for a white person, particularly one who's Southern and poor. This meaning comes from the sense of crack as "brag," and a cracker, therefore, as a "bragger."

Example Sentences

Inside Cracker Barrel, where the company held layoffs recently, some workers shrugged off the change as minor compared with their broader fears, saying they didn’t even think they could drink when traveling.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

The new standards might make anyone who grew up watching the likes of Steve Carlton and Nolan Ryan choke on their Cracker Jack.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 17, 2026

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store fell 4.5% after missing sales expectations.

From Barron's • Dec. 10, 2025

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store falls after reporting lower-than-expected revenue of $797.2 million for its latest quarter.

From Barron's • Dec. 10, 2025

“You wanted to make Cracker Jack at home,” Granddad went on, though he knew I knew the story.

From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart

Related Words

• biscuit
• cookie
• pretzel