- present participle of crack.
cracking
Americannoun
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crackings
plural
adverb
adjective
idioms
adjective
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informal (prenominal) fast; vigorous (esp in the phrase a cracking pace )
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informal to start doing something quickly or do something with increased speed
adverb
noun
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The process of breaking down complex chemical compounds by heating them. Sometimes a catalyst is added to lower the amount of heat needed for the reaction. Cracking is used especially for breaking petroleum molecules into shorter molecules and to extract low-boiling fractions, such as gasoline, from petroleum.
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See also hydrocracking
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cracking
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; see crack, -ing 1, -ing 2
Vocabulary lists containing cracking
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.
See Examples For:
It is people like her the Australian government says it is trying to protect with a new suite of laws cracking down on big tech, which were introduced to parliament this week.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
"This study really takes a novel approach for cracking therapeutic resistance in pancreatic cancer," says study co-author Ronald Evans, PhD, professor and the March of Dimes Chair in Molecular and Developmental Biology at Salk.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026
In his most recent essay, Amodei reiterated cracking down on unauthorized distillation in countries, such as China, and on chip smuggling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Australia will reduce migration by curbing "visa hopping", tightening rules on students and working holiday makers as well as cracking down on overstayers, its interior minister said Thursday, as the far-right surges in the polls.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
Autumn looks toward Ama, her neck craning and cracking.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
The campus was impressive for what happened within its walls: chest crackings, organ transplants, molecular imagings, genetic probes, and virtually any other medical service known in the advanced world.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
All the Arctic peoples had been thrown into panic, and so had the animals, not only by the fog and the magnetic variations but by unseasonal crackings of ice and stirrings in the soil.
From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
I said nothing, and Leper, having said so much, went on to say more, to speak above the wind and crackings as though his story would never be finished.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
Some of the poor creatures had foals, which were tied up a little distance off, and which kept up a piteous whinnying, as an accompaniment to the lashings and crackings of the whips.
From A Voyage in the 'Sunbeam' Our Home on the Ocean for Eleven Months by Annie Brassey
Even the noise of the motor seemed quieter, and above it could be heard whisperings and occasional crackings.
From Stubble by George Looms
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
