2
a
: a mental collapse : nervous breakdown
his wife's death brought on his crack-up
cracked up; cracking up; cracks up
1
: praise, tout sense 1
wasn't all that it was cracked up to be
2
: to damage or destroy (a vehicle) by crashing
crack up a car
3
: to cause to laugh out loud
that joke really cracks him up
1
: to damage or destroy a vehicle (as by losing control)
cracked up on a curve
2
: to laugh out loud
Synonyms
Examples of crack-up in a Sentence
Verb
that sports car isn't all it's cracked up to be
the movie is being cracked up as the blockbuster of the summer
Recent Examples on the Web
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2023
Despite their differences on policy, there is little reason to expect a crack-up between the Hungarian and American right in the near future.
—Emily Tamkin, The New Republic, 22 Sep. 2023
The movie tracks Carl’s descent, his crack-up, and his slow waking up to reality.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 4 Apr. 2023
This season’s minor time jump is a shrewd choice all the same, giving the characters a bit of time to process the Roy family’s biggest crack-up yet.
—Joshua Alston, Variety, 22 Mar. 2023
Johnson’s crack-up inserts a nagging question mark into the very idea of mammoth land-art projects.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2023
Frederic J. Frommer, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Mar. 2024
Rom-com maestro Gary Winick directed this lovely fairy tale about a teenage girl (Christa B. Allen) who transforms into her 30-year-old self (Jennifer Garner) and sees that adulthood is not all it’s cracked up to be.
—EW.com, 2 Mar. 2024
Eric Hsu, the founder of Clear Focus Law, a Kennewick, Washington firm that represents buyers in small business transactions, isn’t so sure investing in law is all it’s cracked up to be.
—Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
The crowd of wealthy Dallas donors—including the billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, a Republican who refuses to vote for Trump—cracked up.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2024
Sitting beside him, Freeman and Betts were cracking up.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024
Lifestyle books exclusive Presidential comebacks are not all they're cracked up to be.
—Nicole Pelletiere, Fox News, 17 Feb. 2024
The man cracked up even when there was no evident punch line on the horizon.
—Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2024
Instead, the discussion devolved into Barry singing about Saltburn, insults, and Fallon’s trademark attempts to not break character and crack up mid-sketch.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 28 Jan. 2024
Noun
And all the better to make his crack-up that much more disorienting and unsettling.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2023
Despite their differences on policy, there is little reason to expect a crack-up between the Hungarian and American right in the near future.
—Emily Tamkin, The New Republic, 22 Sep. 2023
The movie tracks Carl’s descent, his crack-up, and his slow waking up to reality.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 4 Apr. 2023
This season’s minor time jump is a shrewd choice all the same, giving the characters a bit of time to process the Roy family’s biggest crack-up yet.
—Joshua Alston, Variety, 22 Mar. 2023
Johnson’s crack-up inserts a nagging question mark into the very idea of mammoth land-art projects.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2023
Verb
On the occasion of DiMaggio’s 100th birthday in 2014, Thorn argued that the player wasn’t the elite center fielder he’s cracked up to be.
—Frederic J. Frommer, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Mar. 2024
Rom-com maestro Gary Winick directed this lovely fairy tale about a teenage girl (Christa B. Allen) who transforms into her 30-year-old self (Jennifer Garner) and sees that adulthood is not all it’s cracked up to be.
—EW.com, 2 Mar. 2024
Eric Hsu, the founder of Clear Focus Law, a Kennewick, Washington firm that represents buyers in small business transactions, isn’t so sure investing in law is all it’s cracked up to be.
—Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
The crowd of wealthy Dallas donors—including the billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, a Republican who refuses to vote for Trump—cracked up.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2024
Sitting beside him, Freeman and Betts were cracking up.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024
Lifestyle books exclusive Presidential comebacks are not all they're cracked up to be.
—Nicole Pelletiere, Fox News, 17 Feb. 2024
The man cracked up even when there was no evident punch line on the horizon.
—Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2024
Instead, the discussion devolved into Barry singing about Saltburn, insults, and Fallon’s trademark attempts to not break character and crack up mid-sketch.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 28 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crack-up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near crack-up
Cite this Entry
“Crack-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crack-up. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share