crack
crack
Pronunciation
/kræk/
cra - /kræ/
ck - /k/
Word Form Variations
Noun: crack, cracks
Verb: crack, cracks, cracked, cracking
Adjective: crack (often used informally, as in "a crack shot")
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
A narrow opening or fissure, often appearing as a line, that forms on a surface as a result of a break or a split.
Synonyms: crevice, fissure, fracture, split, rift
Antonyms: seal, closure, solidity, whole
A sharp, sudden sound, like that of something breaking or snapping.
Synonyms: snap, pop, report, bang, clap
Antonyms: silence, hush, murmur
A witty or sarcastic remark.
Synonyms: quip, jest, joke, wisecrack, witticism
Antonyms: seriousness, platitude, solemnity
(Slang) A highly addictive form of cocaine.
Synonyms: rock, base, freebase
Antonyms: N/A (as it refers to a specific substance)
Verb
To break or cause to break without separating into distinct parts; to split.
Synonyms: fracture, shatter, split, break, splinter
Antonyms: mend, repair, fix, heal
To make a sharp, sudden sound.
Synonyms: snap, pop, bang, clap, creak
Antonyms: whisper, murmur, hush
To find a solution to or to decipher something difficult.
Synonyms: solve, decipher, unravel, figure out, resolve
Antonyms: baffle, puzzle, mystify, confuse
To give in to pressure; to lose emotional control.
Synonyms: buckle, break down, collapse, crumble, capitulate
Antonyms: persevere, endure, withstand, hold up
Adjective
(Informal) Of the highest quality or excellence, especially in skill or ability.
Synonyms: top-notch, premier, elite, first-rate, masterful
Antonyms: inferior, mediocre, poor, unskilled
Examples of Use
"I just want to be myself, and I think that's the greatest thing you can do," he said. "People just want to see a genuine person. It was a good thing to finally crack that code." (Chicago Tribune, February 2023)
In the film Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, a prominent sound effect is the crack of Indiana Jones's whip.
"It was a crack team of investigators who finally solved the cold case," said the police chief during a press conference.
"The new video game features a cracking sound effect for when a player breaks a glass object." (IGN, May 2024)
"The stock market showed its first significant crack in months, with tech stocks leading the decline." (Bloomberg, July 2024)
"There were deep cracks in the foundation of the old house, suggesting a serious structural problem."
A popular joke told on social media goes, "Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field!" Many social media users commented that it was a "terrible joke" but a "good crack."
"We're seeing an increasing number of people using the term 'crack' to refer to a new, highly potent synthetic drug." (NBC News, October 2023)
In a discussion about a difficult problem, one person might say, "I think I finally figured it out. I've cracked the puzzle."
"The old phonograph record had a noticeable crack running through it, causing the music to skip."
10 Famous Quotes Using Crack
"There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen
"God gives the nuts, but he does not crack them." - Franz Kafka
"The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness." - Vladimir Nabokov
"Look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before." - Jacob Riis
"The American fascists are most easily recognized by their deliberate perversion of truth and fact. Their newspapers and propaganda carefully cultivate every fissure of disunity, every crack in the common front against fascism." - Henry A. Wallace
"It's sad, something coming to an end. It cracks you open, in a way - cracks you open to feeling." - Jennifer Aniston
"Men kick friendship around like a football, but it doesn't seem to crack. Women treat it like glass and it goes to pieces." - Anne Morrow Lindbergh
"A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack was." - Joseph Hall
"A little thing, like children putting flowers in my hair, can fill up the widening cracks in my self-assurance like soothing lanolin." - Sylvia Plath
"The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals." - Ayn Rand
Etymology
The word "crack" has a history that goes way back. Its journey into the English language began with Old English, where a similar word, "cracian", was used. This word was onomatopoeic, meaning it was a word that sounded like the noise it described. Think of a snapping twig or a sudden, sharp noise—that's what "cracian" was meant to convey.
From Old English, the word evolved and was influenced by other languages, including Old Norse and Dutch, both of which had similar words for a sharp sound. Over time, the meaning of the word expanded beyond just the sound. By the 15th century, people started using "crack" to describe the act of breaking something without completely separating it, like a fracture in a plate. This is the origin of the common meaning we use today. The first known uses of the word in English were to describe a sudden, explosive noise, like the crack of thunder, and this initial meaning is still very much a part of the word's identity.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Crack
Crack down on: To take severe measures to restrict or stop something.
Crack the whip: To use one's authority to make people work harder.
Crack a book: To open a book to study.
Crack a joke: To tell a joke.
A tough nut to crack: A person or a problem that is difficult to understand or solve.
At the crack of dawn: Very early in the morning.
To get cracking: To start doing something quickly or with energy.
To crack under pressure: To fail or lose one's composure in a stressful situation.
Crack of thunder: A sudden, loud noise of thunder.
To crack a smile: To smile slightly, often after trying not to.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of crack from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
