Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Crack?

\Crack\ (kr[a^]k), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Cracked} (kr[a^]kt); p. pr. & vb. n. {Cracking}.] [OE. cracken, craken, to crack, break, boast, AS. cracian, cearcian, to crack; akin to D. kraken, G. krachen; cf. Skr. garj to rattle, or perh. of imitative origin. Cf. {Crake}, {Cracknel}, {Creak}.] 1. To break or burst, with or without entire separation of the parts; as, to crack glass; to crack nuts. 2. To rend with grief or pain; to affect deeply with sorrow; hence, to disorder; to distract; to craze. O, madam, my old heart is cracked. --Shak. He thought none poets till their brains were cracked. --Roscommon. 3. To cause to sound suddenly and sharply; to snap; as, to crack a whip. 4. To utter smartly and sententiously; as, to crack a joke. --B. Jonson. 5. To cry up; to extol; -- followed by up. [Low] {To crack a bottle}, to open the bottle and drink its contents. {To crack a crib}, to commit burglary. [Slang] {To crack on}, to put on; as, to crack on more sail, or more steam. [Colloq.]
\Crack\, v. i. 1. To burst or open in chinks; to break, with or without quite separating into parts. By misfortune it cracked in the coling. --Boyle. The mirror cracked from side to side. --Tennyson. 2. To be ruined or impaired; to fail. [Collog.] The credit . . . of exchequers cracks, when little comes in and much goes out. --Dryden. 3. To utter a loud or sharp, sudden sound. As thunder when the clouds in autumn crack. --Shak. 4. To utter vain, pompous words; to brag; to boast; -- with of. [Archaic.] Ethoipes of their sweet complexion crack. --Shak.
\Crack\, n. 1. A partial separation of parts, with or without a perceptible opening; a chink or fissure; a narrow breach; a crevice; as, a crack in timber, or in a wall, or in glass. 2. Rupture; flaw; breach, in a moral sense. My love to thee is sound, sans crack or flaw. --Shak. 3. A sharp, sudden sound or report; the sound of anything suddenly burst or broken; as, the crack of a falling house; the crack of thunder; the crack of a whip. Will the stretch out to the crack of doom? --Shak. 4. The tone of voice when changed at puberty. Though now our voices Have got the mannish crack. --Shak. 5. Mental flaw; a touch of craziness; partial insanity; as, he has a crack. 6. A crazy or crack-brained person. [Obs.] I . . . can not get the Parliament to listen to me, who look upon me as a crack and a projector. --Addison. 7. A boast; boasting. [Obs.] ``Crack and brags.'' --Burton. ``Vainglorius cracks.'' --Spenser. 8. Breach of chastity. [Obs.] --Shak. 9. A boy, generally a pert, lively boy. [Obs.] Val. 'T is a noble child. Vir. A crack, madam. --Shak. 10. A brief time; an instant; as, to be with one in a crack. [Eng. & Scot. Colloq.] 11. Free conversation; friendly chat. [Scot.] What is crack in English? . . . A crack is . . . a chat with a good, kindly human heart in it. --P. P. Alexander.
\Crack\, a. Of superior excellence; having qualities to be boasted of. [Colloq.] One of our crack speakers in the Commons. --Dickens.