Definition

1. Noun:

   • A sudden sharp noise: A short, loud, sharp sound, like that of something breaking or a whip.
   • A narrow opening or fissure: A line on a surface where it has broken but not separated into pieces.
   • A brief attempt or opportunity: An attempt to do something, often for the first time.
   • A witty or sharp remark: A clever, often critical, comment.
   • A potent form of cocaine: A purified, smokable, and highly addictive form of the drug cocaine.

2. Verb:

   • To break without complete separation: To develop a fissure or line of breakage, but not shatter.
   • To make a sudden sharp sound: To produce a short, loud, snapping noise.
   • To find a solution or break into: To solve a difficult problem or gain unauthorized access to a system.
   • To tell a joke: To say something humorous.
   • To hit sharply: To strike someone or something with a forceful blow.
   • To undergo a mental or emotional breakdown: To succumb to psychological stress.
   • To break down chemically: To decompose a complex substance (like petroleum) into simpler ones by applying heat.

3. Adjective:

   • Of the highest quality; excellent: Used to describe someone or something that is first-rate or highly skilled.

Examples

• Noun:

  • We heard a loud crack of thunder.
  • There's a small crack in the windshield.
  • I'd like to take a crack at solving this puzzle.
  • He made a funny crack about the weather.

• Verb:

  • The ice began to crack under the pressure.
  • The hunter's rifle cracked in the distance.
  • It took her hours to crack the secret code.
  • He loves to crack jokes at parties.
  • The branch cracked him on the head as it fell.

• Adjective:

  • She is a crack shot with a rifle.
  • They sent in a crack team of commandos.

Advanced Usage

• "to crack a smile": to finally smile, often reluctantly.

  • The grumpy old man finally cracked a smile at the child's antics.

• "to crack the whip": to act in a strict, demanding manner to get people to work harder.

  • The new manager isn't afraid to crack the whip to meet deadlines.

• "to crack under pressure": to fail to cope with stress or a difficult situation.

  • Some athletes perform best in finals, while others crack under pressure.

• "crack of dawn": the very first light of day; very early morning.

  • We have to get up at the crack of dawn to start the hike.

Variants and Related Words

• Cracked (adj): Having cracks; or (informal) crazy, insane.

  • The cracked pavement is a tripping hazard.
  • His plan sounds completely cracked.

• Cracker (n): A thin, crisp baked good; or (slang, offensive) a poor white person from the southern US; or a device or person that breaks into something (e.g., a safe-cracker).

  • She ate cheese and crackers.

• Cracking (adj/n/adv): (Adj) Excellent. (N) The process of breaking down hydrocarbons. (Adv) Very.

  • We had a cracking good time at the party. (adj)
  • The cracking of petroleum is a key refining process. (n)

Synonyms

• Noun (noise): Snap, pop, report.
• Noun (fissure): Split, crevice, fracture.
• Verb (break): Split, fracture, splinter.
• Adjective (excellent): First-rate, top-notch, ace.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Crack down (on): To start dealing with someone or something more strictly.

  • The police are cracking down on speeding in this neighborhood.

• Crack up: To laugh uncontrollably; or to suffer a mental breakdown.

  • That comedian always cracks me up.
  • He's working so hard I think he's going to crack up.

• Crack on (with): (British English) To continue doing something with determination.

  • We need to crack on with this project if we want to finish on time.

Related Idioms

• A hard/tough nut to crack: A difficult problem to solve or person to understand or influence.

  • This math equation is a tough nut to crack.

• Fall through the cracks: To be missed or neglected, often by a system.

  • Some students' needs fall through the cracks in large schools.

Adjective

1. of the highest quality
   • an ace reporter
   • a crack shot
   • a first-rate golfer
   • a super party
   • played top-notch tennis
   • an athlete in tiptop condition
   • she is absolutely tops

Noun

1. the act of cracking something
2. a usually brief attempt
   • he took a crack at it
   • I gave it a whirl
3. a purified and potent form of cocaine that is smoked rather than snorted; highly addictive
4. a blemish resulting from a break without complete separation of the parts
   • there was a crack in the mirror
5. witty remark
6. a chance to do something
   • he wanted a shot at the champion
7. a sudden sharp noise
   • the crack of a whip
   • he heard the cracking of the ice
   • he can hear the snap of a twig
8. a long narrow depression in a surface
9. a narrow opening
   • he opened the window a crack
10. a long narrow opening

Verb

1. break into simpler molecules by means of heat
   • The petroleum cracked
2. reduce (petroleum) to a simpler compound by cracking
3. cause to become cracked
   • heat and light cracked the back of the leather chair
4. tell spontaneously
   • crack a joke
5. suffer a nervous breakdown
6. gain unauthorized access computers with malicious intentions
   • she cracked my password
   • crack a safe
7. break suddenly and abruptly, as under tension
   • The pipe snapped
8. break partially but keep its integrity
   • The glass cracked
9. pass through (a barrier)
   • Registrations cracked through the 30,000 mark in the county
10. hit forcefully; deal a hard blow, making a cracking noise
    • The teacher cracked him across the face with a ruler
11. make a sharp sound
    • his fingers snapped
12. make a very sharp explosive sound
    • His gun cracked
13. become fractured; break or crack on the surface only
    • The glass cracked when it was heated