wisecrack
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
-
wisecracks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wisecracked,
past participle, past
-
wisecracking
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
wisecracks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wisecracked,
past participle, past
-
wisecracking
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wisecracksimple
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wisecrackssimple
-
have wisecrackedperfect
-
has wisecrackedperfect
-
am wisecrackingprogressive
-
are wisecrackingprogressive
-
is wisecrackingprogressive
-
have been wisecrackingperfect progressive
-
has been wisecrackingperfect progressive
Past
-
wisecrackedsimple
-
had wisecrackedperfect
-
was wisecrackingprogressive
-
were wisecrackingprogressive
-
had been wisecrackingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wisecrack
Explanation
A wisecrack is a funny joke or a sarcastic remark that makes someone laugh. The class clown is usually famous for their wisecracks. You can use this informal word as a verb, too: "How can I know when you're serious if you just wisecrack constantly?" Wisecrack first appeared at the start of the 20th century, from a now-uncommon sense of the verb crack, "speak loudly or boastingly," which is also used in the phrase "to crack a joke." It takes more than wisecracks to be a successful comedian, but it's a good start!
Vocabulary lists containing wisecrack
Spider-Man's Word Web
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Red Kayak
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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:
A wisecrack about the real estate prices popped into my head, but I held my tongue.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
Burry is just as likely to be dismissed on social media, where jokers trot out a version of a wisecrack that he predicted 20 of the last two recessions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025
The wisecrack summed up Bedi in many ways: an irreverent personality, and a rebel of sorts.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2023
Harper and Castellanos seemed to send a message about the wisecrack when they arrived at the ballpark wearing gear inspired by Colorado coach Deion Sanders.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 11, 2023
But Violet was nothing but persistent and no wisecrack or ugly look stopped her.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
But the superstar isn’t convinced until the very last moment, when she and Ava are about to take their final train ride and can’t resist trading a few wisecracks about death.
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
Coincidences and wisecracks abound in this fast-paced caper: Think “Knives Out” meets “Fargo.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
Big stars: Watts wrote and directed “Wolfs” with George Clooney and Brad Pitt cast as rival “fixers” swapping wisecracks while trying to clean up a bloody accident.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2024
"Parker offers immaculate room service as she delivers polished rounds of rueful wisecracks."
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2024
He began making wisecracks in a lockjaw accent about how I was going to become one of those fur-wearing, pinkie-extending, nose-in-the-air New Yorkers.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
After asking Warsh to stand, Trump wisecracked that he would sue him if he failed to lower rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026
Baldwin wisecracked, fully aware that he was about to be slaughtered.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026
“I would trade it in a minute, if I could just be a wife and mother,” wisecracked the gold lame-wrapped, gum-chewing Tenuta, who accepted her award from Carlin.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 6, 2022
“I would trade it in a minute, if I could just be a wife and mother,” wisecracked the gold lamé-wrapped, gum-chewing Tenuta, who accepted her award from Carlin.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 6, 2022
“I did it in a moment of weakness,” Yossarian wisecracked with glum irony.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Whenever the tone of the film tilts toward the overly reverent, Waters comes in with a bit of wisecracking, truthtelling remembrance: Oliver chain-smoked, swore, was stubborn, walked in the forest “like a crazy person.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
More familiar as a wisecracking action hero in blockbusters like Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World, this role is quite a departure for him.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2026
Fillion played the wisecracking mystery novelist Richard Castle in ABC’s crime drama “Castle” and stars in ABC’s “The Rookie” as John Nolan, a forty-something who navigates his midlife crisis by joining the LAPD.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2025
In “Crying Inside,” for example, he sings, “I’ve been wisecracking like the good old days / but pretty soon I’m going to slip away.”
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2024
In the middle sat Garvey, the gravelly-voiced, wisecracking Indian parole officer from Minneapolis.
From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen
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.
