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:
When he sat up, he heard the skin on his stomach crackle.
From Slate ● May 13, 2026
Aref Montazeri, a rising-star artist, had just finished breakfast in his fifth-floor apartment overlooking Tehran when he heard the first crackle of war nearly two months ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026
Hearing the crackle of a small flame — that slightly charred, earthy smell — while a slab of pork fat pops in the cooking kettle, slowly melting down as the base for tonight’s sauce.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026
The show, a touring tutorial he created and performs solo, allows Page the opportunity to animate with barnstorming crackle a rogue’s gallery of Shakespearean scoundrels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2026
They heard the crackle and pop of somebody walking toward them through the dry pine needles on the forest floor, and the girls looked up hopefully.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
From their first meeting, the air between them crackles with . . . something.
From Salon ● Dec. 26, 2025
Rampling crackles as a matriarch who can sniff out her kids’ lies and insecurities but has the good manners not to say anything.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 24, 2025
Everyone laughs and a few people nod knowingly as pops and crackles erupt from all over the room.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2025
But there's a moment just before the curtain rises, when the stage is still, the lights dim, and there's a silence that crackles with a mixture of tension and anticipation.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2025
The night crackles electrically, the front thunders like a concert of drums.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
Around noon, a conversation in Chinese crackled to life over the marine VHF radio.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
When the signal finally did flicker back into life there was a long silence before the voice of Christina Koch crackled back to mission control, evoking memories of the Apollo era.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2026
Another bushfire near the small town of Walwa crackled with lightning as it radiated enough heat to form a localised thunderstorm.
From Barron's ● Jan. 11, 2026
A moment everyone remembers is the time a very young Christina Aguilera played a Lilith sidestage, and the crew radios crackled with excitement and encouragement to not miss it.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2025
I asked when the store’s sound system crackled to life.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
Skies over Le Porge turned orange as smoke rose from charred and crackling pine trees, while helicopters made repeated runs over deserted neighbourhoods.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Flames roared through crackling pine trees on Thursday as a wildfire gained ground on the coast of southwestern France, forcing more than 20,000 tourists and residents to flee to safety.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Steak leans into its vintage charm with dark lighting, a crackling fireplace and a distinctly romantic atmosphere.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
A former Tennessee star, Lawson brings Summitt’s brand crackling intensity to Duke, a mindset that she’s said calls for supreme confidence, chasing excellence and holding oneself to an all-around standard of success.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2026
The crackling and popping was the sound of the fire slowly advancing on them through the woods as it ate up tree after tree after tree.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
