craze
Americanverb (used with object)
-
crazes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
crazed,
past participle, past
-
crazing
present participle
-
to derange or impair the mind of; make insane.
He was crazed by jealousy.
-
to make small cracks on the surface of (a ceramic glaze, paint, or the like); crackle.
-
British Dialect. to crack.
-
Archaic. to weaken; impair.
to craze one's health.
-
Obsolete. to break; shatter.
verb (used without object)
-
crazes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
crazed,
past participle, past
-
crazing
present participle
-
to become insane; go mad.
-
to become minutely cracked, as a ceramic glaze; crackle.
-
Metallurgy.
-
(of a case-hardened object) to develop reticulated surface markings; worm.
-
(of an ingot) to develop an alligator skin as a result of being teemed into an old and worn mold.
-
-
Archaic. to fall to pieces; break.
noun
-
a short-lived current fashion
-
a wild or exaggerated enthusiasm
a craze for chestnuts
-
mental disturbance; insanity
verb
-
to make or become mad
-
ceramics metallurgy to develop or cause to develop a fine network of cracks
-
archaic (tr) to break
-
archaic (tr) to weaken
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
crazesimple
-
crazessimple
-
have crazedperfect
-
has crazedperfect
-
am crazingprogressive
-
are crazingprogressive
-
is crazingprogressive
-
have been crazingperfect progressive
-
has been crazingperfect progressive
Past
-
crazedsimple
-
had crazedperfect
-
was crazingprogressive
-
were crazingprogressive
-
had been crazingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of craze
1325–75; Middle English crasen to crush < Scandinavian; compare Swedish, Norwegian krasa to shatter, crush
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The scramble for funding underscores how the AI craze has shifted to a phase where capital is more constrained.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
"Before the ube craze, it was a niche market," he said, adding it had lagged behind high-value crops like bananas, mangoes and coffee.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Dots are OpenAI’s answer to the current craze around AI agents designed to make users’ lives easier by handling tasks like scheduling trips or canceling subscriptions.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
In the wake of the “Obsession” craze, however, Navarrette has reveled in seeing Latinos embrace her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
Unlike most Americans, however, Holmes sought also to capitalize on the craze by buying bicycles on credit, then reselling them without ever paying off the initial purchase.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
The fallibility of dietary advice is evident in the variability of regimens, fads and crazes that have been promulgated over the years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Like many other internet-fueled food crazes, Cane’s enthusiasm often spills offline in surprisingly tangible ways.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
Thanks to social media and modern health crazes, hydration is no longer about just drinking water — and that has kicked off a corporate rush to develop and market more sophisticated drinks.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
False claims on these foods can be especially hard to combat because they become crazes so quickly on social media.
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026
The waves of recurring crime, the silly fads and crazes, the quicksilver changes in public taste, the hysteria and fears—all of these had long been mysteries to me.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
Either way, reluctance to associate either Salinger or his most indelible creation with crazed murderers meant keeping their own wounds at arms’ length.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
Did someone repaint the mechanical horses for children one too many times and now their eyes look crazed?
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026
My biggest outlay has been for the skinny tires, which my wife, Tina, wears out like a crazed teenager.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
It brought people who saw the hordes of crazed support as a money faucet—an opportunity to turn Tesla allegiance into a financial gold mine.
From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2025
Everybody swarms for the ladders in a crazed rush to evade the police.
From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads
But the Bureau of Land Management still moved to protect them with new rules that would limit mining, development and cattle crazing — all of which represent lucrative revenue for industries and the states.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 14, 2015
As bad as we’ve played, people might think I’m crazing for saying we don’t believe we’re out of it.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 27, 2011
Too thick a finish will cause cooling, crazing and cracking.
From Time Magazine Archive
Hard refractory clays often remain porous and are a fruitful source of crazing and breaking.
From Pottery, for Artists Craftsmen & Teachers by George J. Cox
The news he made a messmate tell: His Angelina bore it well, No sign gave she of crazing; But, steady as the Inchcape rock His Angelina stood the shock With fortitude amazing.
From Bab Ballads and Savoy Songs by Sir W. S. (William Schwenck) Gilbert
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
