crack

1 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 check, chink, cleft, cranny, crevice, fissure, rift, split Related Words crevasse; craze, hairline; fracture, rupture; breach, gap, opening; cut, gash, incision, slit

2 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 bang, bash, bat, beat, belt, biff, bop, box, buffet, bust, chop, clap, clip, clout, blow, cuff, dab, douse [British], fillip, hack, haymaker, hit, hook, knock, larrup [dialect], lash, lick, pelt, pick, plump, poke, pound, punch, rap, slam, slap, slug, smack, smash, sock, spank, stinger, stripe, stroke, swat, swipe, switch, thud, thump, thwack, wallop, welt, whack, wham, whop (also whap)Related Words counter, counterblow, counterpunch, counterstroke; body blow, hand, kick, knee, left, one-two, rabbit punch, right, right-hander, roundhouse, shiver, sidewinder, sucker punch, swing, uppercut; cruncher, kayo, knockdown, knockout, KO; bastinado (or bastinade), battering, beating, bludgeoning, clobbering, cudgeling (or cudgelling), drubbing, hammering, lambasting, licking, pasting, pounding, pummeling (also pummelling), thrashing; flogging, walloping, whip, whipping

3 a loud explosive sound the tree fell with a sharp crack Synonyms bang, blast, boom, clap, crash, pop, report, slam, smash, snap, thunderclap, thwack, whack, whomp, whumpRelated Words thunk, wham; clang, clangor, clank, clash; knock, rap, tap; blare, clamor, howl, hubbub, hue and cry, hullabaloo, outcry, roar, tumult, uproar

4 an effort to do or accomplish something this is my first crack at painting Synonyms assay [archaic], bash [chiefly British], bid, attempt, endeavor, essay, fling, go, offer, pass, shot, stab, trial, try, whack, whirlRelated Words striving, struggle, throes, undertaking; trial and error

5 something said or done to cause laughter a whispered crack made the whole back row start laughing Synonyms boff (or boffo), boffola, joke, drollery, funny, gag, giggle [chiefly British], jape, jest, josh, laugh, nifty, one-liner, pleasantry, quip, rib, sally, waggery, wisecrack, witticism, yuk (or yuck also yak or yock) [slang]Related Words funning, joking, wisecracking; knee-slapper, panic [slang], riot, scream, thigh-slapper; antic, buffoonery, caper, leg-pull, monkeyshine(s), practical joke, prank, trick; burlesque, caricature, lampoon, mock, mockery, parody, put-on, riff; banter, kidding, persiflage, raillery, repartee; drollness, facetiousness, funniness, hilariousness, humorousness; comedy, humor, wit, wordplay

6 a person of odd or whimsical habits that conspiracy theorist has been labeled a crack by the ballistics experts Synonyms character, codger, eccentric, crackbrain, crackpot, crank, flake, fruitcake, head case, kook, nut, nutcase, nutter [British slang], oddball, oddity, original, quiz, screwball, weirdo, zanyRelated Words bohemian, maverick, nonconformist, quixote; coot, geezer; curio, rarity; freak; fantast, fantasticoNear Antonyms conformer, conformist, follower, sheep

1 to break suddenly with an explosive sound the tree branch unexpectedly cracked under our weight Synonyms pop, snap Related Words rend, rive, split; crackle, hiss, sizzle, sputter; burst, explode, shatter; clack, clatter, click

2 to yield to mental or emotional stress after hours of tough questioning the suspect finally cracked and blurted out a confession Synonyms break down, break up, flip (out) [slang], freak (out), melt down, wig (out) [slang] Related Words choke Phrases blow one's cool, fall apart, go off the deep end, go to pieces, lose it

3 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 break, decode, decipher, decryptRelated Words descramble, unscramble; render, translate; dope (out), figure out, puzzle (out), solve, unravel, unriddle, work, work outNear Antonyms garble, jumble (up), mix (up)Antonyms cipher, code, encipher, encode, encrypt

4 to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner cracked him on the bottom with a paddle Synonyms bang, bash, bat, belt, biff, bludgeon, bob, bonk, bop, box, bust, clap, clip, clobber, clock, clout, hit, hammer, knock, nail, paste, pound, punch, rap, slam, slap, slog, slug, smack, smite, sock, strike, swat, swipe, tag, thump, thwack, wallop, whack, whale, zapRelated Words batter, beat, buffet, bung, chop, cuff, drub, lace, lambaste (or lambast), lick, mangle, maul, pelt, pepper, pommel, pummel, rough; scuff; bunt, flick, stroke, tap; bump, butt, jab, jostle, kick, knee, poke, prod, push, shove, stamp; bowl (down or over), cream, deck, dump [slang], fell, floor, knock down, level; rabbit-punch, sucker punch; cane, club, cudgel, flail, flog, lash, sap, slash, sledge, sledgehammer, spear, stab, switch, thrash, whip; bean, brain, conk, skull

5 to find an answer for through reasoning I've been mulling this riddle, but I just can't crack it Synonyms answer, break, solve, dope (out), figure out, puzzle (out), resolve, riddle (out), unravel, unriddle, work, work outRelated Words conclude, decide, deduce, gather, infer, judge, reason; clear (up), iron out, straighten (out), unscramble, untangle, untie; assume, conjecture, divine, guess, presume, speculate; decipher, decode

6 to cause to go insane or as if insane cracked by years in solitary confinement, the prisoner could only maunder incoherently Synonyms craze, derange, frenzy, loco, madden, unbalance, unhinge, unstringRelated Words agitate, bother, confuse, discompose, disquiet, distract, disturb, perturb, unsettle, upset; annoy, irritate, vexNear Antonyms calm, quiet, relax, settle, soothe, tranquilize (also tranquillize)