1
as in applauding
to declare enthusiastic approval of
that sports car isn't all it's cracked up to be
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in crying up
to praise or publicize lavishly and often excessively
the movie is being cracked up as the blockbuster of the summer
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in laughing
to show mirth with an explosive vocal sound
try not to crack up at your own punch lines—it's funnier if you keep a straight face
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cracking up
Mark Toothaker, a stallion sales manager for Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, was on the couch cracking up with his wife, Malory, about the whiffed field goal and consequential turnover.
—
Kelly O'Grady,
CBS News,
3 May 2026
The dogs were confused, not sure whether to attack or run for cover, and Susan was cracking up.
—
Sid Evans,
Southern Living,
18 Feb. 2026
The camera cut to O’Leary cracking up in the audience.
—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
11 Jan. 2026
Winner This week's winner left us cracking up with his acting skills.
—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Dec. 2025
Kathy — who has earned an enormous fan base thanks to her honesty and lack of pretense on the Bravo reality series — had the crowd at the Caesars Forum convention center cracking up from the moment the panel began.
—
Eric Andersson,
PEOPLE,
15 Nov. 2025
The woods may be overrun, this year, with cabins in the woods capable of cracking up couples by laying all their faults bare.
—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Nov. 2025
Later, as the film plays, the crowd bursts intermittently into laughter, cracking up at the clown-car quality of everyone piling into the van for the first time.
—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
14 Oct. 2025
The surprisingly funny duo kept social media fans cracking up, but after about a year, their relationship quietly ended.
—
Elizabeth Ayoola,
Essence,
29 Sep. 2025
Kelly O'Grady,
CBS News,
3 May 2026
The dogs were confused, not sure whether to attack or run for cover, and Susan was cracking up.
—
Sid Evans,
Southern Living,
18 Feb. 2026
The camera cut to O’Leary cracking up in the audience.
—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
11 Jan. 2026
Winner This week's winner left us cracking up with his acting skills.
—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Dec. 2025
Kathy — who has earned an enormous fan base thanks to her honesty and lack of pretense on the Bravo reality series — had the crowd at the Caesars Forum convention center cracking up from the moment the panel began.
—
Eric Andersson,
PEOPLE,
15 Nov. 2025
The woods may be overrun, this year, with cabins in the woods capable of cracking up couples by laying all their faults bare.
—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Nov. 2025
Later, as the film plays, the crowd bursts intermittently into laughter, cracking up at the clown-car quality of everyone piling into the van for the first time.
—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
14 Oct. 2025
The surprisingly funny duo kept social media fans cracking up, but after about a year, their relationship quietly ended.
—
Elizabeth Ayoola,
Essence,
29 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cracking up
Verb
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The Ross Township Police Department shared the video on Facebook on Monday, applauding Sergeant Chuberko and Officer Roy for rescuing the deer.
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The bottom line is that none of this is worth applauding.
Verb
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Within hours the WhatsApp group to organize the female founders was blowing up with critiques.
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Ripley was honored for a heroic effort to halt the advance of North Vietnamese forces by blowing up a crucial bridge in 1972.
Verb
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There are companies creating life-like avatars that can fill in for you in virtual meetings, nodding at the right time and laughing when someone tells a joke.
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On April 24, 2022, the model shared a cute candid of themselves on Instagram, leaning into one another and laughing.
Verb
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Longtime friends Robert De Niro and Streep shared a friendly smooch during the National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala in 2018, following the actor's speech praising the star.
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Bruckheimer kicked off the conversation by praising Cue and the Apple team.
Verb
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During his press conference announcing its closure, DeSantis defended the cost and argued that if the state had not built Alligator Alcatraz, those 21,000 individuals captured by ICE and local police would have been released.
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Moreover, Devonté Hynes’ score, which is both anxious and playful, does the tonal heavy lifting without ever announcing itself, which is something the music branch can discover and appreciate.
Verb
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Humans and great apes have been giggling in similar ways since branching off the evolutionary tree, a new study suggests.
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The two brothers were spotted giggling during a ceremonial carriage ride.
Verb
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Those same issues have ships and planes on high alert in the Middle East, and the ongoing conflict across the region is causing havoc for civilian applications like ride-hailing and food delivery.
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Kwok | Bloomberg | Getty An Indonesian corruption court on Tuesday sentenced former Education Minister Nadiem Makarim, a co-founder of ride- hailing and payments giant Gojek, to 10 years in prison for corruption.
Verb
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But in the days after Cape Verde drew against Spain, a different company began advertising Blue Sharks jerseys on social media.
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Daniels faces three counts of having and selling fighting animals and eight counts of advertising them online.
Cite this Entry
“Cracking up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cracking%20up. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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