crackle Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the sharp sound of snapping noises
    crepitation; crackling.
  2. noun glazed china with a network of fine cracks on the surface
    crackle china; crackleware.
  3. verb make a crackling sound
    crepitate.
    • My Rice Krispies crackled in the bowl
  4. verb make a crushing noise
    crunch; scraunch; scranch.
    • his shoes were crunching on the gravel
  5. verb to become, or to cause to become, covered with a network of small cracks
    • The blazing sun crackled the desert sand
  6. adjective satellite having the surface decorated with a network of fine cracks, as in crackleware
    • a crackle glaze

WordNet

Crac"kle intransitive verb
Etymology
Dim. of crack.
Definitions
  1. To make slight cracks; to make small, sharp, sudden noises, rapidly or frequently repeated; to crepitate; as, burning thorns crackle.
    The unknown ice that crackles underneath them. Dryden.
Crac"kle noun
Definitions
  1. The noise of slight and frequent cracks or reports; a crackling.
    The crackle of fireworks. Carlyle.
  2. (Med.) A kind of crackling sound or r&acir;le, heard in some abnormal states of the lungs; as, dry crackle; moist crackle. Quain.
  3. (Fine Arts) A condition produced in certain porcelain, fine earthenware, or glass, in which the glaze or enamel appears to be cracked in all directions, making a sort of reticulated surface; as, Chinese crackle; Bohemian crackle.

Webster 1913