crack 1 of 3

verb

ˈkrak How to pronounce crack (audio)
Definition of cracknext
1
as in to pop
to break suddenly with an explosive sound the tree branch unexpectedly cracked under our weight

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in to choke
to yield to mental or emotional stress after hours of tough questioning the suspect finally cracked and blurted out a confession

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to decipher
to change (as a secret message) from code into ordinary language the United States military used the Navajo language as a code during World War II, and the enemy never cracked it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to knock
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner cracked the bow of the ship with a champagne bottle

Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in to solve
to find an answer for through reasoning I've been mulling this riddle, but I just can't crack it

Synonyms & Similar Words
6
as in to bother
to cause to go insane or as if insane cracked by years in solitary confinement, the prisoner could only maunder incoherently

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

crack

2 of 3

noun

1
as in fissure
an irregular usually narrow break in a surface created by pressure a pebble struck the car's windshield and left a spidery crack in it

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in blow
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument a disciplinary crack on the hand with a ruler was once common in schoolrooms

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in bang
a loud explosive sound the tree fell with a sharp crack

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in attempt
an effort to do or accomplish something this is my first crack at painting

Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in joke
something said or done to cause laughter a whispered crack made the whole back row start laughing

Synonyms & Similar Words
6
as in nut
a person of odd or whimsical habits that conspiracy theorist has been labeled a crack by the ballistics experts

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

crack

3 of 3

adjective

as in skilled
having or showing exceptional knowledge, experience, or skill in a field of endeavor known as one of the college's crack tennis players

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of crack
Verb
That crack resistance is because of their structure, which is similar to tooth enamel or seashells. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 8 Sep. 2026 Ele also suggests interacting with the silent, posing performers in the tableau, leading to a group bout of one-upsmanship as the players collectively try to get the performers to crack. — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026
Noun
In this case, visible cracks and splits in the wood may accompany browning leaves. — The Spruce, 8 Sep. 2026 Botryosphaeria uses many routes of entry when invading its hosts, including open wounds, cracks, or lenticels—porous openings on branch and stem tissue used for gas exchange. — Emily Leahy, Hartford Courant, 7 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for crack
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crack
  1. pop
  2. choke
  3. decipher
  4. knock
  5. solve
  6. bother
  7. fissure
  8. blow
Verb
  • With no sign of this bubble popping just yet, the era of the big-money, intra-league transfer is here to stay.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Ocado sales of shandy have climbed by 40% year-on-year, said Rachel Dixon in The Guardian, and the drink is popping up in supermarkets everywhere.
    — Irenie Forshaw, TheWeek, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of pop
Verb
  • Advocates argue carts are silent, occupy less space than tourist vans and buses, and don’t choke the air with exhaust that also stains historic monuments.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Chief among them is the war in Iran, which analysts view as a stalemate that has choked major maritime arteries for oil and gas.
    — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of choke
Verb
  • No, multiple academics have attempted to decipher the meaning behind the mightily adorable meow of the domestic house cat.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • These documents that make up your pathology report are important for guiding your treatment but can be difficult to decipher on your own.
    — Nicole Pajer, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of decipher
Verb
  • That’s because key refineries that produce it have been knocked offline or destroyed, both in Eastern Europe — where the Ukraine-Russia war still rages — and in the Middle East.
    — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 11 Sep. 2026
  • In the opening game of the 2025 season, Clark received a flagrant foul for knocking Reese to the floor as Reese attempted to score.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of knock
Verb
  • In a squad that features Kylian Mbappe, Brahim Diaz, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr, Diomande can work his way into the first XI rather than arrive with the responsibility of solving a glaring problem.
    — David Ornstein, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Actors, academics and press are still trying to solve the puzzle 37 years later.
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of solve
Verb
  • The only way Paul managed a point the whole game was with a 136 mph bullet to the corner that Alcaraz didn’t even bother moving for.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Ohtani reported that the area from his biceps to his neck was bothering him Wednesday night, Roberts said.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of bother
Noun
  • But craters and debris from billions of years of impacts covered many of these fissures, said lead study author Gaku Nishiyama, a planetary scientist at the German Aerospace Center’s Institute of Space Research in Berlin.
    — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Concrete slabs between the homes had started to crack or buckle, with some of the fissures running all the way up to or under the homes’ walls, the news outlet reported.
    — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of fissure
Noun
  • There have been plenty of in-game rotations, promising combinations, fluidity and creativity, but without the delivery of a final hammer blow.
    — Cerys Jones, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The residents had sustained another blow when my friend, John Ahern, was a passenger on Pan Am Flight 103 that exploded on December 21, 1988 from a terrorist bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland.
    — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of blow

Phrases Containing crack

Browse Nearby Words

crabwise
crack
crackbrain
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Crack.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crack. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on crack

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about crack

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of empirical

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All