Main Entry: ¹crack

Pronunciation: \ˈkrak\

Function: verb

Etymology: Middle English crakken, from Old English cracian; akin to Old High German chrahhōn to resound

Date: before 12th century

intransitive verb 1 : to make a very sharp explosive sound <the whip cracks through the air>
2 : to break, split, or snap apart
3 : fail: as a : to lose control or effectiveness under pressure —often used with up b : to fail in tone <his voice cracked>
4 : to go or travel at good speed —usually used with on <the steamboat cracked on>transitive verb 1 a : to break so that fissures appear on the surface <crack a mirror> b : to break with a sudden sharp sound <crack nuts>
2 : to tell especially suddenly or strikingly <crack a joke>
3 : to strike with a sharp noise : rap <then cracks him over the head> <cracked a two-run homer in the fifth — New York Times>
4 a (1) : to open (as a bottle) for drinking (2) : to open (a book) for studying b : to puzzle out and expose, solve, or reveal the mystery of <crack a code> c : to break into <crack a safe> d : to open slightly <crack the throttle> e : to break through (as a barrier) so as to gain acceptance or recognition f : to show or begin showing (a smile) especially reluctantly or uncharacteristically
5 a : to impair seriously or irreparably : wreck <crack an opponent's courage> b : to destroy the tone of (a voice) c : disorder, craze d : to interrupt sharply or abruptly <the criticism cracked our complacency>
6 : to cause to make a sharp noise <cracks his knuckles>
7 a (1) : to subject (hydrocarbons) to cracking (2) : to produce by cracking <cracked gasoline> b : to break up (chemical compounds) into simpler compounds by means of heat

— crack the whip : to adopt or apply an authoritative, tyrannical, or threatening approach or policy (as in demanding harder work from employees)

— crack wise : to make a wisecrack