CRACK

ace, A-one, crack, first-rate, super, tiptop, topnotch, top-notch, tops

(adjective) 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”

fracture, crack, cracking

(noun) the act of cracking something

crack, fling, go, pass, whirl, offer

(noun) a usually brief attempt; “he took a crack at it”; “I gave it a whirl”

crack, crack cocaine, tornado

(noun) a purified and potent form of cocaine that is smoked rather than snorted; highly addictive

gap, crack

(noun) a narrow opening; “he opened the window a crack”

crack

(noun) a blemish resulting from a break without complete separation of the parts; “there was a crack in the mirror”

wisecrack, crack, sally, quip

(noun) witty remark

crack, cracking, snap

(noun) a sudden sharp noise; “the crack of a whip”; “he heard the cracking of the ice”; “he can hear the snap of a twig”

crack, cleft, crevice, fissure, scissure

(noun) a long narrow opening

crevice, cranny, crack, fissure, chap

(noun) a long narrow depression in a surface

shot, crack

(noun) a chance to do something; “he wanted a shot at the champion”

crack

(verb) break into simpler molecules by means of heat; “The petroleum cracked”

crack

(verb) reduce (petroleum) to a simpler compound by cracking

crack, break

(verb) become fractured; break or crack on the surface only; “The glass cracked when it was heated”

crack

(verb) cause to become cracked; “heat and light cracked the back of the leather chair”

snap, crack

(verb) break suddenly and abruptly, as under tension; “The pipe snapped”

crack

(verb) break partially but keep its integrity; “The glass cracked”

crack

(verb) tell spontaneously; “crack a joke”

crack

(verb) hit forcefully; deal a hard blow, making a cracking noise; “The teacher cracked him across the face with a ruler”

snap, crack

(verb) make a sharp sound; “his fingers snapped”

crack

(verb) make a very sharp explosive sound; “His gun cracked”

crack

(verb) gain unauthorized access computers with malicious intentions; “she cracked my password”; “crack a safe”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology 1

Verb

crack (third-person singular simple present cracks, present participle cracking, simple past and past participle cracked)

(intransitive) To form cracks.

(intransitive) To break apart under pressure.

(intransitive) To become debilitated by psychological pressure.

(intransitive) To break down or yield, especially under interrogation or torture.

(intransitive) To make a cracking sound.

(intransitive, of a voice) To change rapidly in register.

(intransitive, of a pubescent boy's voice) To alternate between high and low register in the process of eventually lowering.

(intransitive) To make a sharply humorous comment.

(transitive) To make a crack or cracks in.

(transitive) To break open or crush to small pieces by impact or stress.

(transitive) To strike forcefully.

(transitive) To open slightly.

(transitive) To cause to yield under interrogation or other pressure. (Figurative)

(transitive) To solve a difficult problem. (Figurative, from cracking a nut.)

(transitive) To overcome a security system or a component.

(transitive) To cause to make a sharp sound.

(transitive) To tell (a joke).

(transitive, chemistry, informal) To break down (a complex molecule), especially with the application of heat: to pyrolyse.

(transitive, computing) To circumvent software restrictions such as regional coding or time limits.

(transitive, informal) To open a canned beverage, or any packaged drink or food.

(obsolete) To brag, boast.

(archaic, colloquial) To be ruined or impaired; to fail.

Noun

crack (countable and uncountable, plural cracks)

A thin and usually jagged space opened in a previously solid material.

A narrow opening.

A sharply humorous comment; a wisecrack.

(slang) Crack cocaine, a potent, relatively cheap, addictive variety of cocaine; often a rock, usually smoked through a crack-pipe.

(onomatopoeia) The sharp sound made when solid material breaks.

(onomatopoeia) Any sharp sound.

A sharp, resounding blow.

(informal) An attempt at something.

(vulgar, slang) Vagina.

(informal) The space between the buttocks.

(Northern England, Scotland, Ireland) Conviviality; fun; good conversation, chat, gossip, or humorous storytelling; good company.

(Northern England, Scotland, Ireland) Business; events; news.

(computing) A program or procedure designed to circumvent restrictions or usage limits on software.

(Cumbria, elsewhere throughout the North of the UK) a meaningful chat.

(Internet slang) Extremely silly, absurd or off-the-wall ideas or prose.

The tone of voice when changed at puberty.

(archaic) A mental flaw; a touch of craziness; partial insanity.

(archaic) A crazy or crack-brained person.

(obsolete) A boast; boasting.

(obsolete) Breach of chastity.

(obsolete) A boy, generally a pert, lively boy.

(slang, dated, UK) A brief time; an instant; a jiffy.

Usage notes

• (Scots language, common in lowland Scotland and Ulster, conviviality): In the last few decades the word has been adopted into Gaelic; as there is no "k" in the Irish language the spelling craic has been devised.

Synonyms

• (vulgar: space between the buttocks): bum crack (UK), arse crack (UK), ass crack (US)

• (cocaine that is heat-altered at the moment of inhalation): crack cocaine

• (A crazy or crack-brained person): crackpot

Etymology 2

Adjective

crack (not comparable)

Highly trained and competent.

Excellent, first-rate, superior, top-notch.

Source: Wiktionary

Crack (krk), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cracked (krkt); p. pr. & vb. n. Cracking.] Etym: [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.]

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] To crack a bottle, to open the bottle and drink its contents.

– To crack a crib, to commit burglary. [Slang] -- To crack on, to put on; as, to crack on more sail, or more steam. [Colloq.]

Crack, v. i.

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, n.

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, a.

Definition: Of superior excellence; having qualities to be boasted of. [Colloq.] One of our crack speakers in the Commons. Dickens.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

CRACK

Etymology 1

Verb

Noun

Usage notes

Synonyms

Etymology 2

Adjective

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