crack Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a long narrow opening
    crevice; cleft; scissure; fissure.
  2. noun a narrow opening
    gap.
    • he opened the window a crack
  3. noun a long narrow depression in a surface
    crevice; chap; cranny; fissure.
  4. noun a sudden sharp noise
    snap; cracking.
    • the crack of a whip
    • he heard the cracking of the ice
    • he can hear the snap of a twig
  5. noun a chance to do something
    shot.
    • he wanted a shot at the champion
  6. noun witty remark
    wisecrack; sally; quip.
  7. noun a blemish resulting from a break without complete separation of the parts
    • there was a crack in the mirror
  8. noun a purified and potent form of cocaine that is smoked rather than snorted; highly addictive
    tornado; crack cocaine.
  9. noun a usually brief attempt
    whirl; offer; fling; pass; go.
    • he took a crack at it
    • I gave it a whirl
  10. noun the act of cracking something
    cracking; fracture.
  11. verb become fractured; break or crack on the surface only
    break; check.
    • The glass cracked when it was heated
  12. verb make a very sharp explosive sound
    • His gun cracked
  13. verb make a sharp sound
    snap.
    • his fingers snapped
  14. verb hit forcefully; deal a hard blow, making a cracking noise
    • The teacher cracked him across the face with a ruler
  15. verb pass through (a barrier)
    break through.
    • Registrations cracked through the 30,000 mark in the county
  16. verb break partially but keep its integrity
    • The glass cracked
  17. verb break suddenly and abruptly, as under tension
    snap.
    • The pipe snapped
  18. verb gain unauthorized access computers with malicious intentions
    • she cracked my password
    • crack a safe
  19. verb suffer a nervous breakdown
    crock up; crack up; break up; collapse.
  20. verb tell spontaneously
    • crack a joke
  21. verb cause to become cracked
    • heat and light cracked the back of the leather chair
  22. verb reduce (petroleum) to a simpler compound by cracking
  23. verb break into simpler molecules by means of heat
    • The petroleum cracked
  24. adjective satellite of the highest quality
    first-rate; ace; tops; topnotch; A-one; top-notch; tiptop; super.
    • 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

WordNet

Crack transitive verb
Etymology
OE. cracken, craken, to crack, break, boast, AS. cracian, cearcian, to crack; akin to D. kraken, G. krachen; cf. Skr. garj to rattle, or perh. of imitative origin. Cf. Crake, Cracknel, Creak.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Cracked present participle & verbal noun Cracking
Definitions
  1. To break or burst, with or without entire separation of the parts; as, to crack glass; to crack nuts.
  2. To rend with grief or pain; to affect deeply with sorrow; hence, to disorder; to distract; to craze.
    O, madam, my old hear is cracked. Shak.
    He thought none poets till their brains were cracked. Roscommon.
  3. To cause to sound suddenly and sharply; to snap; as, to crack a whip.
  4. To utter smartly and sententiously; as, to crack a joke. B. Jonson.
  5. To cry up; to extol; -- followed by up. Low
Crack intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To burst or open in chinks; to break, with or without quite separating into parts.
    By misfortune it cracked in the coling. Boyle.
    The mirror cracked from side to side. Tennyson.
  2. To be ruined or impaired; to fail. Collog.
    The credit . . . of exchequers cracks, when little comes in and much goes out. Dryden.
  3. To utter a loud or sharp, sudden sound.
    As thunder when the clouds in autumn crack. Shak.
  4. To utter vain, pompous words; to brag; to boast; -- with of. Archaic.
    Ethoipes of their sweet complexion crack. Shak.
Crack noun
Definitions
  1. A partial separation of parts, with or without a perceptible opening; a chink or fissure; a narrow breach; a crevice; as, a crack in timber, or in a wall, or in glass.
  2. Ropture; flaw; breach, in a moral sense.
    My love to thee is sound, sans crack or flaw. Shak.
  3. A sharp, sudden sound or report; the sound of anything suddenly burst or broken; as, the crack of a falling house; the crack of thunder; the crack of a whip.
    Will the stretch out to the crack of doom? Shak.
  4. The tone of voice when changed at puberty.
    Though now our voices Have got the mannish crack. Shak.
  5. Mental flaw; a touch of craziness; partial insanity; as, he has a crack.
  6. A crazy or crack-brained person. Obs.
    I . . . can not get the Parliament to listen to me, who look upon me as a crack and a projector. Addison.
  7. A boast; boasting. Obs. "Crack and brags." Burton. "Vainglorius cracks." Spenser.
  8. Breach of chastity. Obs. Shak.
  9. A boy, generally a pert, lively boy. Obs.
    Val. 'Tis a noble child. Vir. A crack, madam. Shak.
  10. A brief time; an instant; as, to be with one in a crack. Eng. & Scot. Colloq.
  11. Free conversation; friendly chat. Scot.
    What is crack in English? . . . Acrack . . . a chat with a good, kindly human heart in it. P. P. Alexander.
Crack adjective
Definitions
  1. Of superior excellence; having qualities to be boasted of. Colloq.
    One of our crack speakers in the Commons. Dickens.

Webster 1913