cracked

American  

[krakt] / krækt /

adjective

1. broken.

   a container full of cracked ice.

2. broken without separation of parts; fissured.

3. damaged; injured.

4. Informal. eccentric; mad; daffy.

   a charming person, but a bit cracked.

5. broken in tone, as the voice.

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idioms

1. cracked up to be, reported or reputed to be (usually used in the negative).

   I hear the play is not what it's cracked up to be.

cracked British  

/ krækt /

adjective

1. damaged by cracking

2. informal crazy

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Other Word Forms

• uncracked adjective

Etymology

Origin of cracked

First recorded in 1400–50, cracked is from the late Middle English word crachyd. See crack, -ed ²

Example Sentences

"We don't think we could have cracked it without the full team," de Crécy-Lagard said.

From Science Daily • Apr. 7, 2026

Truly cracked engineers didn’t dirty their hands with client-facing work.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026

It’s a cracked mirror, with each fragment revealing a different, distorted image of the human psyche — and it’s really funny, too.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

That it was he who cracked the code against Diamondbacks righty Zac Gallen in the fifth inning, teeing off on a three-run, 400-foot home run to left-center field.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

Their faces looked like dry and cracked leather, and they had nothing extra for little beggars.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

• broken
• damaged
• fractured