Search results for 'crack':

crack verb (cracked, cracking) 1 tr & intr to fracture or cause to fracture partially without falling to pieces. 2 tr & intr to split or make something split. 3 tr & intr to make or cause to make a sudden sharp noise. 4 to strike sharply. 5 tr & intr to give way or make someone or something give way • He finally cracked under the pressure. 6 to force open (a safe). 7 to solve (a code or problem). 8 to tell (a joke). 9 intrans said of the voice: to change pitch or tone suddenly and unintentionally. 10 chem, tr & intr to break down long-chain hydrocarbons produced during petroleum refining into lighter more useful short-chain products. noun 1 a sudden sharp sound. 2 a partial fracture in a material produced by an external force or internal stress, often originating in a defective region of the material. 3 a narrow opening. 4 a resounding blow. 5 colloq a joke. 6 slang (in full crack cocaine) a highly addictive derivative of cocaine, consisting of hard crystalline lumps that are heated and smoked. adj, colloq expert • a crack shot. at the crack of dawn colloq at daybreak; very early. a fair crack of the whip a fair opportunity. get cracking colloq to make a prompt start with a journey, undertaking, etc. have a crack at something colloq to attempt it.
ETYMOLOGY: Anglo-Saxon cracian to resound.