crack

Meaning

Verb

1. (intransitive) To form cracks.
2. (intransitive) To break apart under force, stress, or pressure.
3. (intransitive) To become debilitated by psychological pressure.
4. (intransitive) To break down or yield, especially under interrogation or torture.
5. (intransitive) To make a cracking sound.
6. (intransitive) To change rapidly in register.
7. (intransitive) To alternate between high and low register in the process of eventually lowering.
8. (intransitive) To make a sharply humorous comment.
9. (intransitive) To realize that one is transgender.
10. (transitive) To make a crack or cracks in.
11. (transitive) To break open or crush to small pieces by impact or stress.
12. (transitive) To strike forcefully.
13. (transitive) To open slightly.
14. (figuratively, transitive) To cause to yield under interrogation or other pressure.
15. (figuratively, transitive) To solve a difficult problem.
16. (transitive) To overcome a security system or component.
17. (transitive) To cause to make a sharp sound.
18. (transitive) To tell (a joke).
19. (transitive) To break down (a complex molecule), especially with the application of heat: to pyrolyse.
20. (transitive) To circumvent software restrictions such as regional coding or time limits.
21. (informal, transitive) To open a canned beverage, or any packaged drink or food.
22. (obsolete) To brag; to boast.
23. (archaic, colloquial) To be ruined or impaired; to fail.
24. (colloquial) To barely reach or attain (a measurement or extent).
25. (slang) To have sex with, especially penetrative sex.

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) A thin and usually jagged space opened in a previously solid material.
2. (countable, uncountable) A narrow opening.
3. (countable, uncountable) A sharply humorous comment; a wisecrack.
4. (countable, slang, uncountable) Crack cocaine, a potent, relatively cheap, addictive variety of cocaine; often a rock, usually smoked through a crack-pipe.
5. (countable, figuratively, humorous, slang, uncountable) Crack cocaine, a potent, relatively cheap, addictive variety of cocaine; often a rock, usually smoked through a crack-pipe.
6. (countable, onomatopoeic, uncountable) The sharp sound made when solid material breaks.
7. (countable, onomatopoeic, uncountable) Any sharp sound.
8. (countable, uncountable) A sharp, resounding blow.
9. (countable, informal, uncountable) An attempt at something.
10. (countable, slang, uncountable, vulgar) The vagina.
11. (countable, informal, uncountable) The space between the buttocks.
12. (Ireland, Northern-England, Scotland, countable, uncountable) Conviviality; fun; good conversation, chat, gossip, or humorous storytelling; good company.
13. (Ireland, Northern-England, Scotland, countable, uncountable) Business; events; news.
14. (countable, uncountable) A program or procedure designed to circumvent restrictions or usage limits on software.
15. (US, countable, dated, uncountable) An expanding circle of white water surrounding the site of a large explosion at shallow depth, marking the progress of the shock wave through the air above the water.
16. (Cumbria, countable, uncountable) a chat. 1936, Arthur Ransome, Pigeon Post, ch 3. « And when he come down in the evenings, he’d drop in every night to have a crack wi’ Old Bob. »
17. (Internet, countable, uncountable) Extremely silly, absurd or off-the-wall ideas or prose.
18. (countable, uncountable) The tone of voice when changed at puberty.
19. (archaic, countable, uncountable) A mental flaw; a touch of craziness; partial insanity.
20. (archaic, countable, uncountable) A crazy or crack-brained person.
21. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) A boast; boasting.
22. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Breach of chastity.
23. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) A boy, generally a pert, lively boy.
24. (UK, countable, dated, slang, uncountable) A brief time; an instant; a jiffy.
25. (countable, dated, uncountable) The act of hitting on someone.
26. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Dry firewood.

Adj

1. (not-comparable) Highly trained and competent.
2. (not-comparable) Excellent, first-rate, superior, top-notch.

Noun

One who excels; the best, especially a winning racehorse.

Synonyms

split

break

fissure

crevice

snap

fracture

cleft

burst

chink

chap

gap

rift

crackle

slit

smash

opening

breach

tear

flaw

slot

splinter

hole

🕳️

crash

cracking

cranny

rent

rend

cleave

click

explode

crevasse

crunch

shatter

rip

become cracked

divide

pop

check

bang

collapse

clap

👏

chip

chasm

part

split open

go

smack

clatter

rupture

break up

Translations

fissure

fente

Riss

fessura

grieta

crepa

barst

fenda

Sprung

Spalte

crevasse

fenditura

Spalt

fêlure

incrinare

Pronounced as (IPA)

/kɹæk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: crakken

Inherited from Old English: cracian

Cognate with Scots: crak

Cognate with Western Frisian: kreakje

Cognate with Dutch: kraken

Cognate with Low German: kraken

Cognate with German: krachen

Cognate with Lithuanian: gìrgžděti

Cognate with Classical Armenian: կարկաչ

Cognate with Sanskrit: गर्जति

In summary

From Middle English crakken, craken, from Old English cracian (“to resound, crack”), from Proto-West Germanic *krakōn, from Proto-Germanic *krakōną (“to crack, crackle, shriek”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gerh₂- (“to resound, cry hoarsely”).
Cognate with Scots crak (“to crack”), West Frisian kreakje (“to crack”), Dutch kraken (“to crunch, creak, squeak”), Low German kraken (“to crack”), German krachen (“to crash, crack, creak”), Lithuanian gi̇̀rgžděti (“to creak, squeak”), Old Armenian կարկաչ (karkačʻ), Sanskrit गर्जति (gárjati, “to roar, hum”).
Compare typologically English crevice derived from Latin crepō, Bulgarian пукнатина (puknatina) akin to пу́кам (púkam), Russian тре́щина (tréščina) akin to треск (tresk), щель (ščelʹ) akin to щёлкать (ščólkatʹ).