crack

verb \ ˈkrak \

Definition of crack

intransitive verb

1 :to make a very sharp explosive sound

The whip cracks through the air.

2 :to break, split, or snap apart

The statue cracked when she dropped it.

3 :fail: such as

a :to lose control or effectiveness under pressure —often used with up

The stress was so great that she started to crack 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 eighth

4 a (1) :to open (something, such 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 (something, such as a barrier) so as to gain acceptance or recognition

… on track to crack Hollywood after landing a big screen role.
—Ed Gleave and Peter Dyke

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

Worry had cracked his otherwise cheerful disposition.

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)

The team needs a coach who isn't afraid to crack the whip.

— crack wise

:to make a wisecrack

The comedian often cracked wise about prominent politicians.

See crack defined for English-language learners

See crack defined for kids

Examples of crack in a Sentence

The hailstones were big enough to crack some windows.
He cracked his collarbone in a skiing accident.
The mirror cracked when she dropped it.
Workers cracked the large rock into three pieces so it could be moved.
The bird cracked the seed on a tree branch.
a tool used for cracking nuts
He cracked open the eggs.
Someone cracked him over the head with a beer bottle.
The baby cracked her chin pretty hard when she fell.
He fell and cracked his elbow on the ice.

Recent Examples of crack from the Web

In the meantime, the travel industry is trying to crack down on fraud.

— The Economist, "Holiday cons“Puke for payout”, the scam making holiday firms sick," 20 July 2017
The Hive’s crack team of reporters discuss it all, and more, on the latest episode of V.F. Hive on Cheddar.

— vanityfair.com, "The Dirty, Unsexy Truth About Snapchat," 14 July 2017
The government of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, which is led by a new firebrand chief minister, has been cracking down on buffalo slaughterhouses this year, even though buffaloes are not considered sacred by Hindus the way cows are.

— nida najar, New York Times, "Switch to Vegetarian Food on Air India Causes an Uproar," 10 July 2017
Place pan in oven, rotating halfway through until batter is set, top is dark golden brown and starting to crack.

— nancy miller, The Courier-Journal, "Banana & Nutella recipe | Cuvee Wine Table," 4 July 2017
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said officers would be cracking down on drunken boaters under a program called Operation Dry Water.

— bart jansen, USA TODAY, "July 4th holiday travel: Take it easy out there, police say," 3 July 2017
There are dozens of historical examples of men lording it over women by cracking down on beauty treatments, starting with the Spartans, who banned women’s use of all cosmetics.

— joan kron, Town & Country, "The President's Facelift Tweet Wasn't Just Mean—It Was Also Factually Inaccurate," 30 June 2017
Take about 10 oz. of plain Greek yogurt and crack black pepper into it.

— alex delany, Bon Appetit, "A Date Night Recipe for the Rent Week Struggle," 29 June 2017
Once simmering, carefully crack an egg and pour the egg into the pot of water.

— spoon u, Teen Vogue, "Best Ways to Cook Eggs," 24 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'crack.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of crack

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

crack Synonyms

Synonyms

pop, snap

Antonyms

cipher, code, encipher, encode, encrypt

Related Words

rend, rive, split; crackle, hiss, sizzle, sputter; burst, explode, shatter; clack, clatter, click

Near Antonyms

garble, jumble (up), mix (up)

crack

noun

Definition of crack

1 a :a loud roll or peal

a crack of thunder

b :a sudden sharp noise

the crack of rifle fire

2 :a sharp witty remark :quip

3 a :a narrow break :fissure

a crack in the ice

b :a narrow opening

Leave the door open a crack.

cracks between floorboards

—used figuratively in phrases like fall through the cracks to describe one that has been improperly or inadvertently ignored or left out

a player who fell through the cracks in the college draft

Children slipping through the cracks of available youth services.

4 a :a weakness or flaw caused by decay, age, or deficiency :unsoundness

b :a broken tone of the voice

c :crackpot

5 :moment, instant

the crack of dawn

6 :housebreaking, burglary

7 :a sharp resounding blow

gave him a crack on the head

8 :an attempt or opportunity to do something

her first crack at writing a novel

got first crack at the job opening

9 or crack cocaine :a potent form of cocaine that is obtained by treating the hydrochloride of cocaine with sodium bicarbonate to create small chips used illicitly for smoking

See crack defined for English-language learners

Examples of crack in a Sentence

The crack runs all the way from the top of the wall to the bottom.
an old patio with grass growing up through the cracks
The vase has a few fine cracks, but it is still usable.
I could see them through the crack in the doorway.
Light came through the cracks in the walls of the barn.

Recent Examples of crack from the Web

The Chiefs dialed up a running play on which Conley was called upon to deliver a crack-back block — where the receiver runs back toward the ball to seal off a defender on the edge.

— terez a. paylor, kansascity, "With Alex Smith leading way, some Chiefs players are high on new ‘Zero1’ helmet," 24 Aug. 2017
On the mornings when Kevin or Teryl awakened and walked into a dark kitchen, the first crack of light sent a dozen roaches into a scurry.

— alden woods, azcentral, "$200 from home: Renters in the housing crisis are often stuck between help and affordability," 17 Aug. 2017
AKRON, Ohio — Jordan Spieth will get his first crack at the career Grand Slam next week at the PGA Championship.

— Washington Post, "The Grand Slam ahead, Spieth goes for a hat trick," 3 Aug. 2017
Many spectators are just waiting on deck to take a crack at it.

— alton strupp, The Courier-Journal, "Dainty championship always a big hit in Schnitzelburg," 1 Aug. 2017
With no need to defend its Turkish frontier, Russia moved thousands of crack troops from the Caucasus to shore up its front lines.

— The Economist, "If the Ottoman Empire had not collapsedHad the Ottoman Empire been saved rather than sunk," 13 July 2017
Scientists have been expecting the break from the Larsen C ice shelf, monitoring the progress of a crack which extended to over 100 miles long in recent months.

— chris mooney, chicagotribune.com, "A trillion-ton iceberg the size of Delaware is about to break off Antarctica," 7 July 2017
A deepening crack in a bedroom ceiling has caused layers of paint to fall, and the sidewalk in front of the house has buckled and crumbled as sand keeps washing out of the wall onto the corner of Kennedy Avenue and Wicker.

— michelle l. quinn, Post-Tribune, "Town, homeowner discuss retaining wall safety risk," 20 June 2017
Like all those other techies, though, cracks radiate beneath her sleek veneer like fault lines in the desert.

— rene chun, Los Angeles Magazine, "Inside the Los Angeles Clinic That Uses Ketamine to Treat Depression," 19 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of crack

see ¹crack

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

crack Synonyms

Synonyms

check, chink, cleft, cranny, crevice, fissure, rift, split

Related Words

crevasse; craze, hairline; fracture, rupture; breach, gap, opening; cut, gash, incision, slit

Near Antonyms

conformer, conformist, follower, sheep

crack

adjective

Definition of crack

:of superior excellence or ability

a crack marksman

See crack defined for English-language learners

Examples of crack in a Sentence

The company has a crack sales force.
known as one of the college's crack tennis players

Recent Examples of crack from the Web

Follow along with The Post's crack whip count on where Senate Republicans stand on the revised health-care plan.

— paige winfield cunningham, Washington Post, "The Health 202: Trump administration tells moderates to trust it on health care," 14 July 2017

Origin and Etymology of crack

see ¹crack

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1793

See Words from the same year

crack Synonyms

CRACK Defined for English Language Learners

crack

verb

Definition of crack for English Language Learners

: to break (something) so that there are lines in its surface but it is usually not separated into pieces
: to hit or press (something) so hard that it breaks apart or opens suddenly
: to hit (someone or something) hard and usually suddenly

crack

noun

Definition of crack for English Language Learners

: a thin line in the surface of something that is broken but not separated into pieces
: a very narrow space or opening between two things or two parts of something
: a sudden loud, sharp sound

crack

adjective

Definition of crack for English Language Learners

: very good : of excellent quality or ability

CRACK Defined for Kids

crack

verb \ ˈkrak \

Definition of crack for Students

cracked; cracking

1 :to break or cause to break with a sudden sharp sound

crack an egg

2 :to break often without completely separating into parts

The ice cracked in several places.

3 :to make or cause to make a sound as if breaking

crack a whip

4 :to open a small amount

crack a window

5 :to tell (a joke) especially in a clever way

6 :to lose self-control

He cracked under the strain.

7 :to change in tone quality

My voice cracked from emotion.

8 :to strike or receive a sharp blow

… I bounced sideways and cracked my head on the half-open window …
—Jack Gantos, Joey Pigza Loses Control

9 :solve

I cracked the code.

— crack up

1 :to have a reputation as a result of praise

The show wasn't as good as it was cracked up to be.

2 :to damage or destroy (a vehicle) by crashing

3 :to laugh or cause to laugh

Her costume cracked me up.

crack

noun

Definition of crack for Students

1 :a narrow break or opening

a crack in the glass

2 :a sudden sharp noise

a crack of thunder

3 :a sharp clever remark

4 :a broken tone of the voice

5 :the beginning moment

I awoke at the crack of dawn.

6 :a sharp blow

7 :²attempt

It was my first crack at writing.

crack

adjective

Definition of crack for Students

:of high quality or ability

crack troops

Medical Dictionary

crack

noun, often attributive \ ˈkrak \

medical Definition of crack

:a potent form of cocaine that is obtained by treating the hydrochloride of cocaine with sodium bicarbonate to create small chips used illicitly usually for smoking