Synonyms

crack the whip

American

[krak-thuh wip, hwip] / ˈkræk ðə ˈwɪp, ˈʰwɪp /

verb (used without object)

to demand obedience, hard work, or efficiency from others in a harsh or stern manner.

noun

Also called snap the whip. a game in which players in a line, each holding the next, run, roller-skate, or ice-skate for a distance until the leader veers suddenly in a new direction, causing the rest of the line to swing around rapidly and the players at the end of the line to lose their balance or to let go of the other players.

crack the whip Idioms

Behave in a domineering and demanding way toward one's subordinates. For example, He's been cracking the whip ever since he got his promotion. This expression, first recorded in 1647, alludes to drivers of horse-drawn wagons who snapped their whips hard, producing a loud cracking noise. Its figurative use dates from the late 1800s.

Etymology

Origin of crack the whip

First recorded in 1885–90

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.

"Shows I don't crack the whip when I am not in the country!," the message continues.

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2026

“Gazing wistfully at my future home while I wait for James to crack the whip on the contractors and herd the cats,” Saylor wrote.

From Washington Post • Nov. 14, 2022

French President Emmanuel Macron made an ambitious pledge shortly after the catastrophe that Notre Dame would be rebuilt by 2024, enlisting 71-year-old former army chief Jean-Louis Georgelin to crack the whip.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 11, 2019

"Before she could say you're not going on TV ... But now she can't crack the whip like a prime minister normally does," the veteran Conservative said.

From Reuters • Jul. 5, 2017

This enabled the two Voyagers to use a "gravity assist" technique in which the craft were successively flung from one gassy giant to the next in a kind of cosmic version of "crack the whip."

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023