crack
Americanverb (used without object)
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cracks,
present (3rd person singular)
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cracked,
past participle, past
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cracking
present participle
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to break without complete separation of parts; become fissured.
The plate cracked when I dropped it, but it was still usable.
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to break with a sudden, sharp sound.
The branch cracked under the weight of the snow.
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to make a sudden, sharp sound in or as if in breaking; snap.
The whip cracked.
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(of the voice) to break abruptly and discordantly, especially into an upper register, as because of weariness or emotion.
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to fail; give way.
His confidence cracked under the strain.
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to succumb or break down, especially under severe psychological pressure, torture, or the like.
They questioned him steadily for 24 hours before he finally cracked.
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Chemistry. to decompose as a result of being subjected to heat.
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Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. to brag; boast.
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Chiefly Scot. to chat; gossip.
verb (used with object)
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cracks,
present (3rd person singular)
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cracked,
past participle, past
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cracking
present participle
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to cause to make a sudden sharp sound.
The driver cracked the whip.
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to break without complete separation of parts; break into fissures.
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to break with a sudden, sharp sound.
to crack walnuts.
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to strike and thereby make a sharp noise.
The boxer cracked his opponent on the jaw.
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to induce or cause to be stricken with sorrow or emotion; affect deeply.
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to utter or tell.
to crack jokes.
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to cause to make a cracking sound.
to crack one's knuckles.
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to damage, weaken, etc..
The new evidence against him cracked his composure.
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to make mentally unsound.
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to make (the voice) harsh or unmanageable.
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to solve; decipher.
to crack a murder case.
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Informal. to break into (a safe, vault, etc.).
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Chemistry. to subject to the process of cracking, as in the distillation of petroleum.
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Informal. to open and drink (a bottle of wine, liquor, beer, etc.).
noun
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cracks
plural
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a break without complete separation of parts; fissure.
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a slight opening, as between boards in a floor or wall, or between a door and its doorpost.
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a sudden, sharp noise, as of something breaking.
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the snap of or as of a whip.
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a resounding blow.
He received a terrific crack on the head when the branch fell.
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Informal. a witty or cutting remark; wisecrack.
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a break or change in the flow or tone of the voice.
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Informal. opportunity; chance; try.
Give him first crack at the new job.
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a flaw or defect.
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Also called rock. Slang. pellet-size pieces of highly purified cocaine, prepared with other ingredients for smoking, and known to be especially potent and addicting.
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Masonry. check.
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a mental defect or deficiency.
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a shot, as with a rifle.
At the first crack, the deer fell.
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a moment; instant.
He was on his feet again in a crack.
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Slang. a burglary, especially an instance of housebreaking.
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Chiefly British. a person or thing that excels in some respect.
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Slang: Vulgar. the vulva.
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Chiefly Scot. conversation; chat.
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British Dialect. boasting; braggadocio.
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Archaic. a burglar.
adjective
adverb
verb phrase
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crack on
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(of a sailing vessel) to sail in high winds under sails that would normally be furled.
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(of a power vessel) to advance at full speed in heavy weather.
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crack down to take severe or stern measures, especially in enforcing obedience to laws or regulations.
The police are starting to crack down on local drug dealers.
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crack up
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to suffer a mental or emotional breakdown.
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to crash, as in an automobile or airplane.
He skidded into the telephone pole and cracked up.
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to wreck an automobile, airplane, or other vehicle.
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to laugh or to cause to laugh unrestrainedly.
That story about the revolving door really cracked me up. Ed cracked up, too, when he heard it.
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crack off to cause (a piece of hot glass) to fall from a blowpipe or punty.
idioms
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crack a book, to open a book in order to study or read.
He hardly ever cracked a book.
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get cracking,
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to begin moving or working; start.
Let's get cracking on these dirty dishes!
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to work or move more quickly.
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crack a smile, to smile.
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crack wise, to wisecrack.
We tried to be serious, but he was always cracking wise.
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fall through the cracks, to be overlooked, missed, or neglected: Also slip between the cracks.
In any inspection process some defective materials will fall through the cracks.
verb
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to break or cause to break without complete separation of the parts
the vase was cracked but unbroken
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to break or cause to break with a sudden sharp sound; snap
to crack a nut
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to make or cause to make a sudden sharp sound
to crack a whip
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to cause (the voice) to change tone or become harsh or (of the voice) to change tone, esp to a higher register; break
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informal to fail or cause to fail
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to yield or cause to yield
to crack under torture
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(tr) to hit with a forceful or resounding blow
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(tr) to break into or force open
to crack a safe
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(tr) to solve or decipher (a code, problem, etc)
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informal (tr) to tell (a joke, etc)
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to break (a molecule) into smaller molecules or radicals by the action of heat, as in the distillation of petroleum
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(tr) to open (esp a bottle) for drinking
let's crack another bottle
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dialect (intr) to chat; gossip
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informal (tr) to achieve (esp in the phrase crack it )
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informal (tr) to find or catch
to crack a wave in surfing
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informal to break into a smile
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informal to disguise one's discomfort, etc; put on a bold front
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informal to assert one's authority, esp to put people under pressure to work harder
noun
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a sudden sharp noise
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a break or fracture without complete separation of the two parts
a crack in the window
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a narrow opening or fissure
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informal a resounding blow
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a physical or mental defect; flaw
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a moment or specific instant
the crack of day
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a broken or cracked tone of voice, as a boy's during puberty
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informal (often foll by at) an attempt; opportunity to try
he had a crack at the problem
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slang a gibe; wisecrack; joke
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slang a person that excels
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dialect a talk; chat
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slang a processed form of cocaine hydrochloride used as a stimulant. It is highly addictive
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Also: craic. informal fun; informal entertainment
the crack was great in here last night
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obsolete a burglar or burglary
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the very instant that the sun rises
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very early in the morning
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informal a fair chance or opportunity
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doomsday; the end of the world; the Day of Judgment
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cracksimple
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crackssimple
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have crackedperfect
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has crackedperfect
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am crackingprogressive
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are crackingprogressive
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is crackingprogressive
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have been crackingperfect progressive
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has been crackingperfect progressive
Past
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crackedsimple
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had crackedperfect
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was crackingprogressive
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were crackingprogressive
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had been crackingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of crack
First recorded before 1000; Middle English crak (noun), crak(k)en (verb), Old English cracian “to resound”; cognate with German krachen, Dutch kraken (verb), and German Krach, Dutch krak (noun)
Explanation
A crack is a very narrow space, chink, or opening. If your favorite mug has a crack in it, it might leak. A crack can be as thin as a pencil line, or a wider gap, like a crack where your foot gets stuck as you climb down the side of a mountain. Crack is also a verb, meaning "to split or break," and also "to give way under pressure," as when a suspect cracks after hours of being interrogated. An informal kind of crack is a joke: "That crack he made about my haircut really hurt my feelings."
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:
While some primates use stone tools to access food, for instance to crack open nuts, accumulative stone throwing is a rare example of stone tool use in a social context.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
The family pays her back by breaking eggs into a crack above her apartment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
They have also called on the government to crack down on the sale of unsafe e-bikes through online marketplaces and tackle the demand for cheap e-bikes and scooters driven by the gig economy.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Ebony Caviness, senior investigator with the district attorney’s office, expressed her appreciation to the public for helping crack the case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
He turned back toward the wood— thinking of the ivy he’d seen, thinking he could make a rope—when there was a crack behind them in the dark of the forest.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
An eight-week investigation by the MRA confirmed that the issue, which saw cracks appear in roads, paths, and homes, was related to historical mining work.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Even pottery that enters the ground whole often cracks over the centuries as soil pressure, farming, construction, and other disturbances shift the earth around it.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
Ludovic Ravanel of France's national scientific research centre CNRS, said high temperatures were melting "invisible" ice in cracks, which had held rocks together, leading to them falling.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
When cracks began scarring the structure and the front steps started to sink shortly after its 1922 opening, some people feared that nothing would stop the descent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
All the cracks had disappeared as if they’d never existed, while the hole from the crossbow’s arrow had been filled in with what looked like a small piece of blue stained glass.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
"Sliman specialised in working in mud and straw in very effective cracked surfaces, which reminded people of history and time and the rootedness of Palestine in the earth itself," Tamari said.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Three of the four operating data centers in the U.S. with off-grid or partially grid-connected power have had issues, including cracked turbines and broken engine cranks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
In Boca Chica, a group of residents has sued SpaceX, claiming the company’s rocket launches have cracked their homes’ foundations and caused structural issues.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
In that footage, shattered glass, empty shelves, cracked computer screens and scattered debris can be seen in the wake of the burglary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
And sure enough there were a few old tire piles rotting slowly in its cracked concrete front yard.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
“He’s a major problem,” Green adds solemnly, before cracking the slightest smile.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
"It's a cracking day to be out. We've got very little wind, some nice temperatures. It's perfect," he says while we are kayaking alongside the islands in Loch Leven.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Telltale signs of water damage include discolored wall panels, black mold, cracking plaster or peeling paint, just to name a few.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
China has been cracking down on a practice known as "Singapore-washing," which is when companies leave the country to take advantage of looser regulations, global customers or funding opportunities.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
My voice left me in a cracking gasp.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Definitions 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.
