crackling

American  

[krak-ling, -luhn] / ˈkræk lɪŋ, -lən /

noun

1. the making of slight cracking sounds rapidly repeated.

2. the crisp browned skin or rind of roast pork.

3. Southern U.S. Usually cracklings. the crisp residue left when fat, especially hog or chicken fat, is rendered.

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crackling British  

/ ˈkræklɪŋ /

noun

1. the crisp browned skin of roast pork

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Etymology

Origin of crackling

First recorded in 1540–50; crackle + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

The distress channel of his maritime radio was crackling with the pleas of seafarers among the 20,000 still stranded on cargo ships and tankers.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026

Over the radio, Bing Crosby is crooning, Bob Hope is joking, and news of the war — against Hitler, against Japan — keeps sizzling and crackling across the dial.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

All that crackling pressure on one athlete, the hushed ooooooohhs from the rafters, all of it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026

The camera cuts to Elizabeth’s actual surroundings: a New York City apartment, where the radiator clacks and hisses in place of a crackling fire, and the view is brick, not snow-dusted pasture.

From Salon • Dec. 25, 2025

Full bellies, the warm crackling fire, the rain pattering on the roof and falling gently on the sand pulled them together and held them close.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt