crackerjack

American  

[krak-er-jak] / ˈkræk ərˌdʒæk /

noun

1. a person or thing that shows marked ability or excellence.

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adjective

1. of marked ability; exceptionally fine.

crackerjack British  

/ ˈkrækəˌdʒæk /

adjective

1. excellent

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noun

1. a person or thing of exceptional quality or ability

Etymology

Origin of crackerjack

1890–95, earlier crackajack, rhyming compound based on crack (adjective); -a- as in blackamoor ( def. ); jack ¹ ( def. ) in sense “fellow, buddy”

Explanation

Someone who's a crackerjack is really good at what they do. A crackerjack of a magician will amaze you with every trick she performs. You can use the word crackerjack for any excellent thing or person — you might say, for example, that your new car is a crackerjack or compliment your friend on her crackerjack of a performance at the school talent show. Crackerjack is an informal word that can be a noun or an adjective — and it's also the name of the caramel-covered popcorn and nuts you might buy at a baseball game.

Example Sentences

For 35 years, Cruise’s super spy Ethan Hunt and his rotating, crackerjack team of rogue agents have been saving the world from annihilation time and time again, skirting death by a hair each time.

From Salon • May 24, 2025

Above all else, Winkler is a crackerjack researcher, deftly laying out the myriad questions, arguments and mysteries swirling around Shakespeare.

From Washington Post • Apr. 21, 2023

But it’s a crackerjack example of the form; DiCaprio is hauntingly good as a U.S.

From New York Times • Jan. 30, 2023

“Thirteen Lives”: Ron Howard’s crackerjack cave rescue drama has been chugging along since its unceremonious, late-summer release.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2022

He was thinking about Captain Johnson, a crackerjack pilot, a dedicated Marine who would never go far in the Marine Corps because of his voice.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy