crack up

British  

verb

1. (intr) to break into pieces

2. informal (intr) to undergo a physical or mental breakdown

3. informal (tr) to present or report, esp in glowing terms

   it's not all it's cracked up to be

4. informal to laugh or cause to laugh uproariously or uncontrollably

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noun

1. informal a physical or mental breakdown

crack up Idioms  

1. Suffer an emotional breakdown, become insane, as in He might crack up under the strain . This usage alludes to the result of cracking one's skull; from the early 1600s to crack alone was used in this way. [ Slang ; early 1900s]

2. Damage or wreck a vehicle or vessel. For example, I'm always afraid that I'll crack up the car .

3. Experience a crash, as in We cracked up on the freeway in the middle of the ice storm .

4. Also, crack someone up . Burst or cause to burst out laughing, as in The audience cracked up , or That joke really cracked me up . [ Slang ; c. 1940] Also see break up , def. 6. All of these expressions derive from crack in the sense of “break into pieces” or “collapse,” a usage dating from the late 1600s. Also see cracked up .

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Example Sentences

We cracked up at that and recorded the moment.

From Los Angeles Times

“Gross!” the boy cried, and they cracked up.

From Literature

Owen narrowed his eyes, and George cracked up.

From Literature

Maybe investing like the “smart money” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

From The Wall Street Journal

My Magic 8 Ball sees little to look forward to except a lot of laughs — because we’ll need to crack up at the cruelty to keep from crying, you know?

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• freak out
• go crazy