crackle
Americanverb (used without object)
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crackles,
present (3rd person singular)
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crackled,
past participle, past
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crackling
present participle
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to make slight, sudden, sharp noises, rapidly repeated.
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to form a network of fine cracks on the surface.
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(of ceramic glaze) to craze.
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to exhibit liveliness, vibrancy, anticipation, etc..
The play crackled with wit.
verb (used with object)
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crackles,
present (3rd person singular)
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crackled,
past participle, past
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crackling
present participle
-
to cause to crackle.
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to break with a crackling noise.
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to craze (ceramic glaze).
noun
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the act of crackling.
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a crackling noise.
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a network of fine cracks, as in the glaze of some kinds of porcelain.
verb
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to make or cause to make a series of slight sharp noises, as of paper being crushed or of a wood fire burning
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(tr) to decorate (porcelain or pottery) by causing a fine network of cracks to appear in the glaze
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(intr) to abound in vivacity or energy
noun
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the act or sound of crackling
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intentional crazing in the glaze of a piece of porcelain or pottery
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Also called: crackleware. porcelain or pottery so decorated
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cracklesimple
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cracklessimple
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have crackledperfect
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has crackledperfect
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am cracklingprogressive
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are cracklingprogressive
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is cracklingprogressive
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have been cracklingperfect progressive
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has been cracklingperfect progressive
Past
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crackledsimple
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had crackledperfect
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was cracklingprogressive
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were cracklingprogressive
-
had been cracklingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of crackle
Explanation
To crackle is to make short, sharp cracking noises. A roaring fire in your wood stove crackles as it burns. Fires crackle, as small branches pop and snap from the heat, and a voice over an intercom might crackle with static. You could also describe the sound of your feet on dried leaves and branches as you walk through the woods as a crackle. A visual crackle, as opposed to one you hear, appears as tiny cracks in the surface: "I like that crackle effect on your table."
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:
The banter between the two gives McDonagh’s script its usual comic crackle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Season 2, which is still superior television, lacks some of the crackle of season 1.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
But the crackle of anticipation in Westminster Hall made abundantly clear that this was anything but standard.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
When he sat up, he heard the skin on his stomach crackle.
From Slate ● May 13, 2026
The very air seemed to crackle with danger.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Everyone laughs and a few people nod knowingly as pops and crackles erupt from all over the room.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2025
"I've since been back to the GP as my breathing is still painful and he has found crackles in my lungs," Mrs Hollingworth said.
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2025
“And lo and behold, just like if you sprinkle a bunch of rosemary on a pizza and put it under the broiler and it crackles and sparkles, and then very rapidly goes out,” Fleming said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025
Except the story crackles with little distortions: Mirrors and bird cages appear with eerie frequency, paintings vanish from a wall, and other oddities complicate the narrative.
From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2024
The microphone crackles to life above our heads.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
As a man with a booming voice who gave his name only as Sheriff slammed down a piece to the groans of other players, artillery crackled in the distance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
A desperate voice crackled down the phone -- Mariano Nkogo Mba Nchama's 22-year-old son pleaded for help to get home to Equatorial Guinea from Ukraine, where he is fighting for the Russian army.
From Barron's ● Apr. 13, 2026
On the final night, on the frozen shores of the Hudson Bay, they set up camp next to an abandoned trading post as the ice crackled beneath them while the northern lights danced above.
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026
Against her blue hair and bold, pink doll-head suit, the orange backdrop crackled with energy — it was perfect.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2025
When he struck the lighter to the rich tinder the fire crackled instantly and he knew that it would not last long.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
But on his new solo album, “Thrasher,” he trades the Killers’ gleaming, synth-laced rock for the crackling sound of hand-played country music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Simon soon picks up a handheld CRT device to help with sneaking - a clever updated version of another staple of the Silent Hill series: the crackling radio.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Gone are the vivid blues and warm oranges and greens, crackling against film grain, that did so much heavy lifting for the first film’s leaden plot.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
Wisps of smoke rose from charred or crackling tree trunks between Le Porge and the village of Lege-Cap-Ferret to the south, AFP journalists said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
The reason why became readily apparent: Surrounding them in every direction was a dome of green light crackling with lightning.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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.
