What does "crack" mean?
A thin and usually jagged space opened in a previously solid material.
Crack
/kɹæk/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A thin and usually jagged space opened in a previously solid material.
- Grammar: crack is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: crevice, fissure, fracture, gap.
- Useful contrasts: amateur, beginner, blocked.
- Usage evidence: The ice will crack beneath our weight.
How to use "crack"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "crack" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "crack" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "crack" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "crack" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "crack" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "crevice" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "crack", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A thin and usually jagged space opened in a previously solid material. countable, uncountable
"A large crack had formed in the roadway."
- 2 One who excels; the best, especially a winning racehorse. obsolete
"Stanton had at one time a reputation for inaccessibility, but that has long since become a thing of the past, […] So that the gallops of the cracks' can, in most cases, be regularly watched and their daily doings truthfully chronicled."
- 3 the act of cracking something wordnet
- 4 A narrow opening. countable, uncountable
"We managed to squeeze through a crack in the rock wall."
- 5 a usually brief attempt wordnet
Show 32 more definitions
- 6 A sharply humorous comment; a wisecrack. countable, uncountable
"I didn't appreciate that crack about my hairstyle."
- 7 a purified and potent form of cocaine that is smoked rather than snorted; highly addictive wordnet
- 8 Crack cocaine, a potent, relatively cheap, addictive variety of cocaine; often a rock, usually smoked through a crack-pipe. countable, slang, uncountable
"crack head"
- 9 a narrow opening wordnet
- 10 Crack cocaine, a potent, relatively cheap, addictive variety of cocaine; often a rock, usually smoked through a crack-pipe.; Something good-tasting or habit-forming. countable, figuratively, humorous, slang, uncountable
"kitty crack"
- 11 a blemish resulting from a break without complete separation of the parts wordnet
- 12 The sharp sound made when solid material breaks. countable, onomatopoeic, uncountable
"The crack of the falling branch could be heard for miles."
- 13 witty remark wordnet
- 14 Any sharp sound. countable, onomatopoeic, uncountable
"The crack of the bat hitting the ball."
- 15 a sudden sharp noise wordnet
- 16 A sharp, resounding blow. countable, uncountable
"Mrs. Perkins, who has not been for some weeks on speaking terms with Mrs. Piper in consequence for an unpleasantness originating in young Perkins' having "fetched" young Piper "a crack," renews her friendly intercourse on this auspicious occasion."
- 17 a long narrow cleft wordnet
- 18 An attempt at something. countable, informal, uncountable
"I'd like to take a crack at that game."
- 19 a long narrow depression in a surface wordnet
- 20 The vagina. countable, slang, uncountable, vulgar
"I rattled off more silly nonsense, all the while clutching her firmly, pushing my fingers into her gluey crack."
- 21 a chance to do something wordnet
- 22 The space between the buttocks. countable, informal, uncountable
"Pull up your pants! Your crack is showing."
- 23 Conviviality; fun; good conversation, chat, gossip, or humorous storytelling; good company. Ireland, Northern-England, Scotland, countable, uncountable
"The party was great crack."
- 24 A chat. Cumbria, Northern-UK, countable, uncountable
"And when he come down in the evenings, he’d drop in every night to have a crack wi’ Old Bob."
- 25 Business; events; news. Ireland, Northern-England, Scotland, countable, uncountable
"What's the crack?"
- 26 A program or procedure designed to circumvent restrictions or usage limits on software. countable, uncountable
"Has anyone got a crack for DocumentWriter 3.0?"
- 27 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. US, countable, dated, uncountable
- 28 Extremely silly, absurd or off-the-wall ideas or prose. Internet, countable, uncountable
- 29 The tone of voice when changed at puberty. countable, uncountable
"And let vs (Polidore) though now our voyces / Haue got the manniſh cracke, ſing him to'th'ground"
- 30 A mental flaw; a touch of craziness; partial insanity. archaic, countable, uncountable
"He has a crack."
- 31 A crazy or crack-brained person. archaic, countable, uncountable
"On the London Cries […] I have lately received a letter from some very odd fellow upon this subject […] ‘Sir, […], but I cannot get the parliament to listen to me ; who look upon me, forsooth, as a crack and a projector […] I am, SIR, &c. / RALPH CROTCHET’"
- 32 A boast; boasting. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Slaunderous reproches,and fowle infamies, / Leaſings,backbytings,and vaineglorious crakes"
- 33 Breach of chastity. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"But thinke her bond of Chaſtity quite crack'd, I hauing 'tane the forfeyt."
- 34 A boy, generally a pert, lively boy. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"The ſame Sir Iohn, the very ſame: I ſaw him breake Scogaan's Head at the Court-Gate, when hee was a Crack, not thus high: […]"
- 35 A brief time; an instant; a jiffy. UK, countable, dated, slang, uncountable
"I'll be with you in a crack."
- 36 The act of hitting on someone. countable, dated, uncountable
"The eyes of my sisters who fear my crack^* [footnote] Before the popularization of the term "crack" as a drug, its common usage in the Black community referred to men publicly cruising and approaching women."
- 37 Dry firewood. countable, obsolete, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To form cracks. intransitive
"It's been so dry, the ground is starting to crack."
- 2 break into simpler molecules by means of heat wordnet
- 3 To break apart under force, stress, or pressure. intransitive
"When I tried to stand on the chair, it cracked."
- 4 reduce (petroleum) to a simpler compound by cracking wordnet
- 5 To become debilitated by psychological pressure. intransitive
"Anyone would crack after being hounded like that."
Show 33 more definitions
- 6 become fractured; break or crack on the surface only wordnet
- 7 To break down or yield, especially under interrogation or torture. intransitive
"When we showed him the pictures of the murder scene, he cracked."
- 8 cause to become cracked wordnet
- 9 To make a cracking sound. intransitive
"The bat cracked with authority and the ball went for six."
- 10 break suddenly and abruptly, as under tension wordnet
- 11 To change rapidly in register. intransitive
"His voice cracked with emotion."
- 12 break partially but keep its integrity wordnet
- 13 To alternate between high and low register in the process of eventually lowering. intransitive
"His voice finally cracked when he was fourteen."
- 14 pass through (a barrier) wordnet
- 15 To make a sharply humorous comment. intransitive
""I would too, with a face like that," she cracked."
- 16 tell spontaneously wordnet
- 17 To realize that one is transgender. intransitive
"She cracked at age 22 and came out to her friends and family over the next few months."
- 18 hit forcefully; deal a hard blow, making a cracking noise wordnet
- 19 To make a crack or cracks in. transitive
"The ball cracked the window."
- 20 suffer a nervous breakdown wordnet
- 21 To break open or crush to small pieces by impact or stress. transitive
"You'll need a hammer to crack a black walnut."
- 22 make a sharp sound wordnet
- 23 To strike forcefully. transitive
"She cracked him over the head with her handbag."
- 24 make a very sharp explosive sound wordnet
- 25 To open slightly. transitive
"Could you please crack the window?"
- 26 gain unauthorized access computers with malicious intentions wordnet
- 27 To cause to yield under interrogation or other pressure. figuratively, transitive
"They managed to crack him on the third day."
- 28 To solve a difficult problem. figuratively, transitive
"I've finally cracked it, and of course the answer is obvious in hindsight."
- 29 To overcome a security system or component. transitive
"It took a minute to crack the lock, three minutes to crack the security system, and about twenty minutes to crack the safe."
- 30 To cause to make a sharp sound. transitive
"to crack a whip"
- 31 To tell (a joke). transitive
"The performance was fine until he cracked that dead baby joke."
- 32 To break down (a complex molecule), especially with the application of heat: to pyrolyse. transitive
"Acetone is cracked to ketene and methane at 700°C."
- 33 To circumvent software restrictions such as regional coding or time limits. transitive
"That software licence will expire tomorrow unless we can crack it."
- 34 To open a canned beverage, or any packaged drink or food. informal, transitive
"I'd love to crack open a beer."
- 35 To brag; to boast. obsolete
"To whom the boaſter, that all knights did blot, / With proud diſdaine did ſcornefull anſwere make; […] And further did vncomely ſpeaches crake."
- 36 To be ruined or impaired; to fail. archaic, colloquial
"The credit[…]of exchequers cracks, when little comes in and much goes out."
- 37 To barely reach or attain (a measurement or extent). colloquial
"An underground band that never cracked the Hot 100"
- 38 To have sex with, especially penetrative sex.
"[…] they end up thinking that they can escape the pain of incel-dom by “cracking” a femboy […]"
Adjective
- 1 Highly trained and competent. not-comparable
"Even a crack team of investigators would have trouble solving this case."
- 2 Excellent, first-rate, superior, top-notch. not-comparable
"She's a crack shot with that rifle."
Adjective
- 1 of the highest quality wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname
Example
"The ice will crack beneath our weight."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "crack"?
Common synonyms include: crevice, fissure, fracture, gap, go, shot.
How do you use "crack" in a sentence?
The ice will crack beneath our weight.
How do you pronounce "crack"?
Pronounced /kɹæk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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 (<< Latin crepō), Bulgarian пукнатина (puknatina) (akin to пу́кам (púkam)), Russian тре́щина (tréščina) (akin to треск (tresk)), щель (ščelʹ) (akin to щёлкать (ščólkatʹ)).
Etymology 2
Slang first attested 1793, perhaps from the verb in the sense of doing something quickly or with intelligence, or in the sense of "speaking boastingly" and having something to be proud of.