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:
She said Eisenkot would likely enjoy Israeli public support for cracking down on extremist settlers, who have attacked Palestinians in the West Bank with virtual impunity.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
They are also trying to create a more welcoming work environment while cracking down on off-color jokes and catcalls on male-dominated jobsites.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Their work remixes the thrill of early internet exploration into colorful abstraction, cracking open an esoteric feeling to analyze its contents and origin — to varying effect.
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026
They finish each other’s sentences and switch up their Google Meet backgrounds, cracking up as an awkward graduation portrait pops up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
“Rude?!” the girl said, her voice cracking again.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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
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
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
Just as the night jasmine gives up its perfume to the night, so does an old house its past in the form of murmurs and crackings and memories and suggestions.
From The Ghost Girl by H. De Vere (Henry De Vere) Stacpoole
Everything was still outside, but for the rare crackings of ice and timber.
From The Peace of Roaring River by W. H. D. (William Henry Dethlef) Koerner
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
