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

---

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 .

---

Example Sentences

Turns out that “inexhaustible” abundance is not all it’s cracked up to be.

From The Wall Street Journal

“All right, all right,” she said, but the class cracked up anyway.

From Literature

Padilla and Gosling were a teacher and principal in another sketch reading passed notes out loud that, according to text on screen, were swapped out since rehearsal, causing both to crack up uncontrollably.

From Los Angeles Times

We cracked up at that and recorded the moment.

From Los Angeles Times

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

From Literature

Related Words

• freak out
• go crazy