Meaning of crack in English

crack

verb

/kræk/ us

/kræk/

crack verb (BREAK)

to break something so that it does not separate, but very thin lines appear on its surface, or to become broken in this way:

A stone hit the window and cracked the glass.

I cracked my tooth as I fell.

The walls cracked and the roof collapsed in the earthquake.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to break

breakI didn't mean to break your phone.
fractureLast year he fractured his skull.
bustOne of the children has bust the computer.
shatterThe ball hit the window and shattered it.
smashI dropped the vase and it smashed.
snapShe bent the ruler and it snapped.

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[ I ] informal

to become mentally and physically weak:

Stress and overwork are causing teachers to crack.

[ I ] informal

to fail as a result of problems:

Their relationship began to crack after their child died.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to not work or happen as intended

failWe tried our best, but ultimately the project failed.
fall apartThings were going smoothly until we hired him, and now everything is falling apart.
fall to piecesThe plan has potential, but unless we proceed carefully, it could fall to pieces.
fall throughOur plans to visit fell through at the last minute.
crackThe Liberal Party is cracking under the pressure of these allegations.

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[ I ]

If someone cracks, that person begins to feel weak and agrees that they have been defeated:

He cracked during questioning and told us where to find the stolen goods.

More examplesFewer examples

The new paint is already starting to crack and peel.
All that jolting has cracked the eggs.
He fell over and cracked his forehead open on the stone.
The car actually cracked the concrete where he drove into it.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Tearing and breaking into pieces

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Becoming and making less strong

Failing and doing badly

Accepting & agreeing reluctantly

crack verb (GET INTO)

[ T ]

to break something open, especially in order to reach or use what is inside:

crack an egg Crack three eggs into a bowl and mix them together.

crack a nut He cracked the nuts with his hands.

crack open a nut The monkeys use stones to crack open hard nuts.

[ T ]

(also crack into something)

to get into someone else's computer system without permission and get information or do something illegal

[ T ] informal

to copy computer programs or recorded material illegally

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Unfastening and opening

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Operating computers

crack verb (FIND ANSWER)

[ T ]

to find a solution to a problem:

crack a code They cracked the code and read the secret message.

I've been trying to solve this problem all week, but I still haven't cracked it.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Solving and solutions

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crack verb (HIT)

[ I or T, usually + adv/prep ]

to hit something or someone:

crack something on something I cracked my head on the door.

crack something against something He fell, cracking his knee against the fence.

crack someone over the head They cracked him over the head with a baseball bat.

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Hitting and beating

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crack verb (MAKE SOUND)

[ I or T ]

to make a sudden, short noise, or to cause something to make this noise:

The whip cracked over the horses' heads.

crack your knuckles He's always cracking his knuckles (= pulling the joints of his fingers to make a noise).

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to make a sudden loud sound

bangThe door banged shut.
knockI know when the heating is on because the old radiator begins to knock and hiss.
crackThunder cracked right before it began pouring and we ran for cover.
clankI could tell he was upset by the way the pots clanked in the sink while he was washing up.
clangChurch bells clanged in the distance.
clashThe children covered their ears whenever the cymbals clashed.

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[ I ]

If a voice cracks, its sound changes because the person is upset:

crack with Her voice cracked with emotion as she told the story.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Sounds made by objects, movement or impact

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Becoming and making less strong

crack verb (MAKE JOKE)

C1 [ T ]

to make a joke or funny remark:

crack a joke He's always cracking jokes.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Humour & humorous

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crack verb (OIL)

[ I or T ] chemistry, engineering specialized

to make chemical changes to the hydrocarbons (= chemical combinations of hydrogen and carbon) in oil as part of the process of refining it (= changing it from its natural state into petrol), or to go through this process:

He invented the first commercially applicable apparatus for cracking hydrocarbons, a necessary process in petroleum production.

Large, less useful hydrocarbon molecules are cracked to form smaller, more useful molecules.

Hydrogen ions attach themselves to the oil molecules and cause them to crack into smaller molecules, including petrol.

Related word

cracker

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Industrial processing

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Idioms

crack the whip

get cracking

Phrasal verbs

crack down
crack down on something
crack on
crack on with something/doing something
crack onto someone
crack up
crack (someone) up

crack

noun

/kræk/ us

/kræk/

crack noun (NARROW SPACE)

C2 [ C ]

a very narrow space between parts of something:

Cracks had appeared in the dry ground.

We peered through the crack in the floorboards.

figurative Cracks began to show in his façade of self-confidence.

Synonyms

breach  (OPENING) formal
chink  (CRACK)
cleft
cranny
crevice
fissure
gap (SPACE)
interstice formal
opening  (HOLE)
slit 
slot  (LONG HOLE)

Patrycia Schwei/EyeEm/GettyImages

(just) a crack

so that there is a very small space:

She opened the door just a crack to listen to the conversation.

More examplesFewer examples

I was dusting the mantelpiece when I noticed a crack.
A huge crack went from the top to the bottom of the wall.
There's a large crack where the ceiling meets the wall.
There were several cracks in the glass.
Large cracks began to develop in the wall.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Holes, hollows and dips

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Geography: caves, cracks & crevices

crack noun (SOUND)

[ C ]

a sudden loud sound:

the crack of a rifle/whip/breaking branch

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

a sudden loud sound

bangShe slammed the door with a bang.
slamThe window closed with a slam.
clashI can still hear the clash of metal against metal during the car crash.
clankMy mechanic asked me to describe the clanks that my engine makes.
clangThe jail door closed with a resounding clang.
thumpHe dropped his suitcase with a loud thump and sprinted up the steps.

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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Sounds made by objects, movement or impact

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crack noun (ATTEMPT)

[ C usually singular ] informal

an attempt:

crack at It was her first crack at beating the record.

have a crack Here's a question for anyone who wants to have a crack.

take a crack US It's not something I've done before, but I'll take a crack at it.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Trying and making an effort

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crack noun (DRUG)

[ U ] slang

(also crack cocaine)

a powerful form of the drug cocaine:

Several kilos of crack were found in her luggage.

a crack addict

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Specific types of drug

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crack noun (ENJOYABLE TIME)

[ U ]

→ craic Irish English

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

General words for fun

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crack noun (IN COMPUTER SYSTEM)

[ C ] informal

a method of getting into someone else's computer system:

Find cracks for your shareware programs.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Operating computers

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crack noun (JOKE)

[ C ]

a wisecrack informal

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Humour & humorous

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Idioms

at the crack of dawn

fall/slip through the cracks

crack

adjective [ before noun ]

/kræk/ us

/kræk/

excellent, or of the highest quality:

a crack regiment

crack troops

Synonyms

ace  (VERY GOOD) old-fashioned slang
first-rate
super  old-fashioned informal
top-notch informal

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

better than anyone or anything else

bestShe was the best singer in the country.
excellentHe was an excellent singer.
superlativeShe gave a superlative performance.
superbThe meal was absolutely superb.
outstandingHe was an outstanding chef.

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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Extremely good

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(Definition of crack from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

crack | American Dictionary

crack

verb

/kræk/

crack verb (DAMAGE)

Add to word list Add to word list

[ I/T ]

to damage something by causing thin lines or spaces to appear on its surface; break slightly:

[ I ] The concrete on the front of the building had begun to crack.

[ T ] The X-ray showed that she had cracked a bone in her foot.

crack verb (HIT SOMETHING)

[ T always + adv/prep ]

to hit something hard:

He fell backward, his head cracking against a tree.

crack verb (OPEN)

[ T ]

to break something open, esp. in order to reach or use what is inside:

He cracked three eggs into a mixing bowl.

[ T ]

If you crack a code (= message in symbols), you discover what it means.

crack verb (MAKE A NOISE)

[ I/T ]

to make a sudden, sharp noise or to cause something to make such a noise:

[ I ] All around us the lightning was cracking.

crack verb (LOSE CONTROL)

[ I ]

to weaken and become less able to think in a reasonable way, esp. because of anxiety or fear:

In spite of intense questioning for over eight hours, she never cracked.

crack verb (JOKE)

[ T ]

to make a joke or amusing remark:

Jerry’s always cracking jokes.

Idioms

crack a joke
crack a smile
crack the whip
not all it's cracked up to be

Phrasal verbs

crack down

crack up (someone)

crack

noun [ C ]

/kræk/

crack noun [C] (ATTEMPT)

an attempt; a try:

I’ve never tried to cook this before, but I thought I’d have a crack at it.

crack noun [C] (JOKE)

a joking remark that is critical of someone or slightly insulting:

She’s always making cracks about how much I eat.

crack noun [C] (DAMAGE)

a thin line or space in the surface of something, usually a sign of damage:

A series of cracks developed in the road surface.

A crack is also a narrow space:

She opened the door a crack.

crack

adjective [ not gradable ]

/kræk/

crack adjective [not gradable] (SKILLFUL)

skillful; expert:

The man’s a crack technician.

(Definition of crack from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of crack

crack

The crack near the crown is the one that would be visible inside the church.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Any ova with broken or cracked zonae were discarded before and after heat treatment.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Instead of sounding as if they were coming from some specific location, extremely loud honks and cracks may appear simply as present to the listener.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

He uses simple math in a very deep and elegant way to crack important questions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It states that, near the tip of the crack, the leading order of the expansion of the elastic field is symmetric.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In such static solutions the hydrostatic pressure in the fluid and the elastic pressure exerted by the walls of the crack are in balance.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

By the middle of the eighth century, its public face had begun to erode and its buildings cracked.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The aforementioned internal stress cracks generally have no impact on kernel germination and seedling performance.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It took the high-risk movement to put the first cracks in the clay feet of traditional psychopathology.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

There are also some cracks to be seen: these represent just artifacts due to desiccation occurring during scanning microscopic investigation.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

One sublot consisted of visually perfect kernels and the other of visually cracked kernels.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The formal rules leave visible cracks in the system.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Typically, these cracks form at a distance of a metre or more from the walls.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The gaps are continuous, with three cracks running obliquely through the specimen and converging at a point dorsal to the skull fragment.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

If o lightning impacts on an outcrop with abundant cracks and fractures, the strong currents will cause moisture in the cracks to evaporate instantaneously.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of crack

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of crack?

B2,C1,C2

Translations of crack

in Chinese (Traditional)

破裂, （使）破裂, （使）裂開…

in Chinese (Simplified)

破裂, （使）破裂, （使）裂开…

in Spanish

rajar, rajarse, agrietar…

in Portuguese

rachar, estalar, fissura…

in more languages

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in Swedish

in Malay

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in Ukrainian

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in Telugu

in Arabic

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in Italian

तडा जाणे, भेगा, फटी…

（物）が割れる, （物）を割る, 鋭い音を立てる…

çatla(t)mak, yar(ıl)mak, kabuğunu kırmak…

(se) fêler, casser, cogner…

esquerdar-se, esclafir, espetegar…

(doen) barsten, kraken, knappen…

எதையாவது ஒன்றைப் பிரிக்காதபடி உடைக்க, ஆனால் அதன் மேற்பரப்பில் மிக மெல்லிய கோடுகள் தோன்றி அதன் காரணமாக உடைந்து போக்கக்கூடியது, ஏதோ ஒன்றின் பாகங்களுக்கு இடையில் மிகவும் குறுகிய இடைவெளி…

दरार…

તરાડ, ચિરાડો, તિરાડ…

revne, knække, smælde…

spricka, knäcka, knaka till…

retak, pecahkan, patah…

krachen, zerbrechen, knacken…