cracking
Americannoun
adverb
adjective
idioms
adjective
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informal (prenominal) fast; vigorous (esp in the phrase a cracking pace )
-
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:
"We've created a specialised task force to monitor social media closely, especially short video platforms. They will investigate and handle these cases quickly, cracking down in a very strict manner".
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Now, the league is cracking down on his antics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
More: The stock market’s calm surface is cracking.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and other Orange County towns are cracking down on elaborate shade coverings, citing safety issues.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
While Kwame keeps cracking jokes, I look around.
From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
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
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
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
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 Stacpoole, H. De Vere (Henry De Vere)
In others, the joints, although stiff, can be moved but exhibit pronounced crackings.
From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Thomson, Alexis
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.
