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Synonyms

craze

American  
[kreyz] / kreɪz /

verb (used with object)

crazed, crazing

  1. to derange or impair the mind of; make insane.

    He was crazed by jealousy.

  2. to make small cracks on the surface of (a ceramic glaze, paint, or the like); crackle.

  3. British Dialect. to crack.

  4. Archaic. to weaken; impair.

    to craze one's health.

  5. Obsolete. to break; shatter.

verb (used without object)

crazed, crazing

  1. to become insane; go mad.

  2. to become minutely cracked, as a ceramic glaze; crackle.

  3. Metallurgy.

    1. (of a case-hardened object) to develop reticulated surface markings; worm.

    2. (of an ingot) to develop an alligator skin as a result of being teemed into an old and worn mold.

  4. Archaic. to fall to pieces; break.

noun

  1. a popular or widespread fad, fashion, etc.; mania.

    the newest dance craze.
    Synonyms:
    mode, vogue

  2. insanity; an insane condition.

  3. a minute crack or pattern of cracks in the glaze of a ceramic object.

  4. Obsolete. flaw; defect.

craze British  
/ kreɪz /

noun

  1. a short-lived current fashion

  2. a wild or exaggerated enthusiasm

    a craze for chestnuts

  3. mental disturbance; insanity

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to make or become mad

  2. ceramics metallurgy to develop or cause to develop a fine network of cracks

  3. archaic (tr) to break

  4. archaic (tr) to weaken

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of craze

1325–75; Middle English crasen to crush < Scandinavian; compare Swedish, Norwegian krasa to shatter, crush

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.

The e-bike craze, which is putting many people, including kids, in the hospital at an alarming rate, has thus far defied similar regulatory frameworks.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

Then, as the OpenClaw craze began to sweep Silicon Valley, and beyond, the idea popped into his head that he could build an “AI version of an engineer.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Within the U.S., the savory yogurt craze has been slow to take off.

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026

When ChatGPT triggered the generative AI craze in 2022, no one was more prepared for it than Nvidia.

From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026

Since coming down, landscape gardening had become his last craze but one.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

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.