cracker

[krak-er]

noun

1. a thin, crisp biscuit.

2. a firecracker.

3. Also called cracker bonbon. a small paper roll used as a party favor, that usually contains candy, trinkets, etc., and that pops when pulled sharply at one or both ends.

4. (initial capital letter),  a native or inhabitant of Georgia or Florida (used as a nickname).

5. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.,  a contemptuous term used to refer to a white person in the South, especially a poor white living in some rural parts of the southeastern U.S.

6. Slang.,  black hat.

7. snapper.

8. braggart; boaster.

9. a person or thing that cracks.

10. a chemical reactor used for cracking.

adjective

1. Informal.,  crackers, wild; crazy.

   They went crackers over the new styles.

cracker

/ ˈkrækə /

noun

1. a decorated cardboard tube that emits a bang when pulled apart, releasing a toy, a joke, or a paper hat

2. short for firecracker

3. a thin crisp biscuit, usually unsweetened

4. a person or thing that cracks

5. offensive,  another word for poor White

6. slang,  a thing or person of notable qualities or abilities

7. informal,  worthless; useless

Sensitive Note

The term cracker is used as a neutral nickname by inhabitants of Georgia and Florida; it is a positive term of self-reference. But when the nickname is used by outsiders, it is usually with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting by Georgians and Floridians. Cracker is always disparaging and offensive when used to refer to a poor white person in the South; the word in this sense often implies that the person is regarded as ignorant or uneducated. When used by Black people, cracker can refer to a Southern white racist, not necessarily poor or rural. See also Cracker State.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cracker¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English craker; crack, -er ¹; cracker defs. 4, 5 were perhaps originally in sense “braggart,” applied to frontiersmen of the southern American colonies in the 1760s, though subsequently given other interpretations ( corn-cracker ); cracker for def. 11 crackers “crazy,” cracked, -ers

Example Sentences

With the haka and all that happening, it's always a cracker.

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Some had cases of “survival crackers”—bulgur wheat blocks with an estimated shelf life of three thousand years.

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During royal scandals, "you breathe a sigh of relief as you guys - the media - go crackers over something else," a former No 10 official told me.

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Items like single-serve mac and cheese cups, ramen packs, granola bars, oatmeal, fruit snacks, pretzels, cheese and crackers, clementines and protein bars are great alternatives — or additions — to the traditional candy bowl.

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Mondelez International Inc., the maker of Oreo cookies, Ritz crackers and Sour Patch Kids candy, said late Tuesday it reached “peak costs” and dialed down its expectations for the year.

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Related Words

• biscuit 
• cookie 
• pretzel