crack

1 of 3

verb

ˈkrak 

cracked; cracking; cracks

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

2 of 3

noun

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

crack

3 of 3

adjective

: of superior excellence or ability

a crack marksman

Phrases

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.

Synonyms

Verb

• pop
• snap

Noun

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

Adjective

• accomplished
• ace
• adept
• compleat
• complete
• consummate
• crackerjack
• educated
• experienced
• expert
• good
• great
• master
• masterful
• masterly
• practiced
• practised
• professed
• proficient
• skilled
• skillful
• versed
• veteran
• virtuoso

Examples of crack in a Sentence

Verb

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.

Noun

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.

Adjective

The company has a crack sales force.

known as one of the college's crack tennis players

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Reddit was valued at $10 billion after raising $400 million in a Series F, and that didn’t even crack the top 15 funding rounds of the year. —María Soledad Davila Calero, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024

But cracking the top six in the East to avoid the play-in tourney won’t be as simple for the Heat. —Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2024

William Howell, a New Yorker tasked with writing the code that would enshrine Arizona as a territory, cracked open the law books of a neighboring state as a model: California. —Faith E. Pinho, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024

The two embraced on the court — with the comedian cracking a joke which made his son laugh — following the Huskies’ 75-60 win over the Boilermakers. —Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024

In addition to being a literal pain, cracked nipples can impact your ability to breastfeed. —Macaela MacKenzie, Allure, 5 Apr. 2024

And some labor economists believe that elevated borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, which were steered higher by the Fed, are poised to crack certain parts of the economy the longer businesses have to live with them. —Talmon Joseph Smith, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024

Snag a seat by the cracking fireplace or post up at the ground-floor Bar Pendry or the fourth-floor Chez Zou with a cocktail or two. —Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 5 Apr. 2024

Everything to know as the jackpot cracks $1.09 billion This year, Axis created a network of therapy providers to help address a shortage of therapists. —Georgann Yara, The Arizona Republic, 4 Apr. 2024

Noun

Yet, casting him as an infant drug dealer who sells crack on the street corners is neither amusing nor edgy. —Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024

The issue has also exposed the first serious cracks in Tusk’s governing coalition, which was elected thanks to widespread exasperation with PiS, but which contains lawmakers from across the political spectrum. —Rob Picheta, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024

But a crack in the allies' economic relationship could overshadow the event. —Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 10 Apr. 2024

Doherty has been free of hard drugs—that is, crack and heroin—since December 2019. —Lily Moayeri, SPIN, 8 Apr. 2024

But even at last month’s Fed meeting, some cracks had emerged: Nine of the 19 policymakers forecast just two rate cuts or fewer for 2024. —Christopher Rugaber, Fortune, 6 Apr. 2024

Her slaying occurred against a backdrop of broader debate over how to protect workers from violence, which has revealed cracks in the criminal justice reform movement. —Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024

The Nasrallah family's children watched in horror through a crack in their garden wall. —Jane Arraf, NPR, 30 Mar. 2024

Despite growing cracks in the economy, the equities market continues to hit record high closing prices. —Robert Barone, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb, Noun, and Adjective

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

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1793, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing crack

• anti-crack
• a hard/tough nut (to crack)
• crack baby
• at the crack of dawn
• crack house
• crack a smile
• a fair crack of the whip
• crack into
• crack down
• open a crack
• crack the whip
• sand crack
• crack wise
• crack shot
• crack up
• crack cocaine

Kids Definition

crack

1 of 3 verb

ˈkrak 

1

a

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

b

: to make or cause to make such a sound

crack a whip

2

: to break with or without complete separation of parts

the ice cracked in several places

3

: to tell especially in a clever or witty way

crack jokes

4

a

: to lose control under pressure

—often used with up

b

: to fail in tone

her voice cracked

c

: to give or receive a sharp blow

cracked my head

5

a

: to puzzle out : solve

crack a code

b

: to break into or through

crack a safe

crack the sound barrier

6

a

: to put hydrocarbons through cracking

crack petroleum

b

: to produce by cracking

cracked gasoline

crack

2 of 3 noun

1

: a sudden sharp noise

2

: a sharp witty remark : quip

3

: a narrow break or opening

a crack in the glass

open the window a crack

4

a

: weakness sense 2, flaw

b

: a broken tone of the voice

5

: the beginning moment

the crack of dawn

6

: a sharp resounding blow

7

: try entry 2

take a crack at it

8

: highly purified cocaine in small chips used illegally usually for smoking

crack

3 of 3 adjective

: of high quality or ability

crack troops

Medical Definition

crack

noun

ˈkrak 

often attributive

: 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