cracking

1 of 3

adjective

crack·​ing ˈkra-kiŋ 

: very impressive or effective : great

cracking

2 of 3

adverb

: very, extremely

a cracking good book

cracking

3 of 3

noun

1

: a process in which relatively heavy hydrocarbons are broken up by heat into lighter products (such as gasoline)

2

US politics : a form of gerrymandering in which election districts are drawn in such a way that voters likely to support the opposing party are spread among multiple districts to dilute the power of their votes

Using the classic gerrymandering technique, cracking, they divided Salt Lake City (a Democrat stronghold) among three districts to drown out its Democratic voters with neighboring heavily Republican turf.

—Justin F. Thulin

compare packing sense 3

Synonyms

Adjective

• A-OK
• A1
• awesome
• bang-up
• banner
• beautiful
• blue-chip
• blue-ribbon
• boffo
• bonny [chiefly British]
• bonnie
• boss [slang]
• brag
• brave
• bully
• bumper
• capital
• choice
• classic
• cool [slang]
• corking
• crackerjack
• dandy
• divine
• dope [slang]
• down [slang]
• dynamite
• excellent
• fab
• fabulous
• famous
• fantabulous [slang]
• fantastic
• fine
• first-class
• first-rate
• first-string
• five-star
• four-star
• frontline
• gangbusters
• gangbuster
• gilt-edged
• gilt-edge
• gone [slang]
• grand
• great
• groovy
• heavenly
• high-class
• hot
• hype [slang]
• immense
• jim-dandy
• keen
• lovely
• marvelous
• marvellous
• mean
• neat
• nifty
• noble
• number one
• No. 1
• numero uno
• out-of-sight [slang]
• par excellence
• peachy
• peachy keen
• phat [slang]
• prime
• primo [slang]
• prize
• prizewinning
• quality
• radical [slang]
• righteous [slang]
• sensational
• slick
• splendid
• stellar
• sterling
• superb
• superior
• superlative
• supernal
• swell
• terrific
• tip-top
• top
• top-notch
• top-of-the-line
• top-shelf
• topflight
• topping [chiefly British]
• unsurpassed
• wizard [chiefly British]
• wonderful

Adverb

• achingly
• almighty
• archly
• awful
• awfully
• badly
• beastly
• blisteringly
• bone
• colossally
• corking
• damn
• damned
• dang
• deadly
• desperately
• eminently
• enormously
• especially
• ever
• exceedingly
• exceeding
• extra
• extremely
• fabulously
• fantastically
• far
• fiercely
• filthy
• frightfully
• full
• greatly
• heavily
• highly
• hugely
• immensely
• incredibly
• intensely
• jolly
• majorly
• mightily
• mighty
• monstrous [chiefly dialect]
• mortally
• most
• much
• particularly
• passing
• rattling
• real
• really
• right
• roaring
• roaringly
• seriously
• severely
• so
• sore
• sorely
• spanking
• specially
• stinking
• such
• super
• supremely
• surpassingly
• terribly
• that
• thumping
• too
• unco
• uncommonly
• vastly
• very
• vitally
• way
• whacking
• wicked
• wildly

Examples of cracking in a Sentence

Adjective

I think it's a cracking story.

a writer renowned for her cracking tales of mystery and suspense

Adverb

tells a cracking good tale of a search for a lost city

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Another uninspired performance coupled with a a heavy defeat may well spell the end for the Basque manager at the Emirates, so this fixture should have plenty of undertones and be a cracking game of football. —SI.com, 28 Oct. 2019

This is shaping up to be a cracking game at Old Trafford that United will probably edge. —SI.com, 6 Aug. 2019

His fortunes finally turned back Wednesday, when van Garderen laid down a cracking time trial at the Tour of California. —sacbee, 16 May 2018

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1830, in the meaning defined above

Adverb

1903, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1868, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cracking

• get cracking

Rhymes for cracking

• backing
• blacking
• clacking
• hacking
• jacking
• lacking
• packing
• racking
• sacking
• slacking
• smacking
• snacking

Kids Definition

cracking

noun

crack·​ing

ˈkrak-iŋ

: a process in which heavy hydrocarbons (as oils from petroleum) are broken up by heat into lighter products (as gasoline)