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Synonyms

cracked

American  
[krakt] / krækt /

adjective

  1. broken.

    a container full of cracked ice.

  2. broken without separation of parts; fissured.

  3. damaged; injured.

  4. Informal. eccentric; mad; daffy.

    a charming person, but a bit cracked.

  5. broken in tone, as the voice.

idioms

  1. cracked up to be, reported or reputed to be (usually used in the negative).

    I hear the play is not what it's cracked up to be.
cracked British  
/ krækt /

adjective

  1. damaged by cracking

  2. informal crazy

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of cracked

First recorded in 1400–50, cracked is from the late Middle English word crachyd. See crack, -ed 2

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.

The meetings were sprinkled with moments of levity: Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani presented Rubio with certificates documenting his ancestors’ roots in Italy and Rubio cracked jokes in Spanish about needing to learn Italian.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

At the time, the irreverent news website had seemingly cracked the code for social-media virality.

From MarketWatch • May 8, 2026

“Isn’t San Francisco already doing it?” the Navy veteran cracked.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

Recently, both Amazon’s and Google’s TV apparatuses have cracked down on sideloading—the practice of downloading apps from third-party providers—by exclusively permitting downloads from their parent companies’ authorized app stores.

From Slate • May 3, 2026

Maybe the cracked lens will distract people’s eyes before they get to the shiner.

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

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.