crackling

noun

crack·​ling

plural cracklings

1

ˈkra-k(ə-)liŋ  : a series of small sharp cracking noises

the crackling of frozen snow as we walk

2

\ ˈkra-​klən , -​kliŋ \

a

: the crisp residue left after the rendering of lard from pig fat or the frying or roasting of pig skin

Want to know how to get perfect crisp crackling on roast pork?

—BBC Good Food (online)

… for me fat is a largely a textural pleasure, … and pork crackling is surely the supreme example of this: a blistered top, as dry and crunchy as an autumn leaf, hiding a layer of yielding, creamy fat beneath.

—Felicity Cloake

also : a piece of this residue

We feasted on … fresh hog cracklings from a road-side trailer north of Houston …

—Peter Richmond

b

: food or a piece of food that resembles crackling

duck cracklings

The great Simon Hopkinson, author of Roast Chicken and Other Stories, gave me—appropriately enough—a bag of chicken crackling as a present, and I pressed him for the recipe.

—Nigella Lawson

Examples of crackling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Sit back and relax in an Adirondack around a crackling fire, or take a short walk to nearby shops, restaurants, trails, and a weekly farmers’ market. —Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 16 Aug. 2025

Come fall and winter, this will become a crackling fireside ritual, and instead of cheesecake, we’ll be swathed in flannel and longing for spiked hot chocolate. —Jennifer Leigh Parker, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025

Cooked over a crackling fire, surrounded by pitch pines, lightning bugs and scurrying squirrels, even something simple like a skillet of nachos can go from good to remarkable. —The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 July 2025

The slow roasted pig is supple through the center, with a crackling exterior that comes from a long basting process. —Matthew Odam, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for crackling

• tackling

Kids Definition

crackling

noun

crack·​ling

1

ˈkrak-(ə-)liŋ

: a series of small sharp crackling sounds

2

ˈkrak-lən,

ˈkrak-liŋ

: the crisp remainder left after the fat has been separated from the meat or skin (as of pork)

—usually used in plural