Cracking
//ˈkɹækɪŋ// adj, adv, noun, verb, slang
adj, adv, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The thermal decomposition of a substance, especially that of crude petroleum in order to produce petrol / gasoline.
- 2 the act of cracking something wordnet
- 3 The formation of cracks on a surface.
- 4 a sudden sharp noise wordnet
- 5 The production of a crack sound.
"the crackings of whips"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 the process whereby heavy molecules of naphtha or petroleum are broken down into hydrocarbons of lower molecular weight (especially in the oil-refining process) wordnet
Verb
- 1 present participle and gerund of crack form-of, gerund, participle, present
Adjective
- 1 That cracks; that produces a sharp sound as of something splitting or breaking.
"From the spot where the body lay came a fierce fizzing and cracking sound, which ceased, however, before the fumes had cleared away."
- 2 Great; excellent. colloquial
"Near-synonym: crackerjack"
- 3 Enjoyable. colloquial
"We had a cracking time."
Adjective
- 1 excellent wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Very, usually associated with praise. British, not-comparable
"It was a cracking good show."
Example
More examples"The cracking sound startled us."
Etymology
From Middle English crakynge.
Related phrases
More for "cracking"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.