CRACK | English Meaning, Definition, and Pronunciation

Old English cracian ‘make an explosive noise’; of Germanic origin; related to Dutch kraken and German krachen. crack (sense 4 of the noun) is from Irish craic ‘entertaining conversation’

a line on the surface of something along which it has split without breaking apart

line showing split

• a hairline crack down the middle of the glass

a sudden sharp or explosive noise

sudden sharp noise

• a loud crack of thunder

a joke, typically a critical or unkind one

joke

• he knew about the gossip and would make the odd crack

enjoyable social activity; a good time

enjoyable social activity

• he loved the crack, the laughing

an attempt to achieve something

attempt to achieve something

• I fancy having a crack at winning a fourth title

a potent hard crystalline form of cocaine broken into small pieces and inhaled or smoked

hard crystalline form of cocaine

• he uses crack and cocaine
• a crack dealer

break or cause to break without a complete separation of the parts

break without separating

• the ice all over the bog had cracked
• take care not to crack the glass

make or cause to make a sudden sharp or explosive sound

make sudden sharp sound

• a shot cracked across the ridge
• he cracked his whip and galloped away

find a solution to; decipher or interpret

find solution to

• the code will help you crack the messages

tell (a joke)

tell joke

• he cracked jokes which she didn't find very funny

decompose (hydrocarbons) by heat and pressure with or without a catalyst to produce lighter hydrocarbons, especially in oil refining

decompose hydrocarbons

• catalytic cracking increases gasoline yields

very good or skilful

very good or skilful

• he is a crack shot
• crack troops