See Also: crack-up(dictionary)
crack-up(dictionary)
crack-(dictionary)
crack(4)(dictionary)
crack(3)(dictionary)
crack(2)(dictionary)
crack(1)(dictionary)
toe-crack(medicine)
crack(medicine)
quarter-crack(medicine)

crack(4) (iou)



crack verb. [krak] Also crake.
[Old English cracian = Middle & mod. Dutch kraken, Old High German krahhon (German krachen).]
I. With chief ref. to sound.
verb intrans. Of a thing breaking, of thunder, a gun, a whip, etc.: make a sudden sharp or explosive noise. OE.
Pope Silks russle, and tough Whalebones crack. J. Steinbeck The flame cracked up among the twigs.
b. verb trans. Strike with a resounding blow. Now dial. or colloq. LME.
X. Herbert Don't be cheeky or I'll crack you.
c. verb trans. Cause (a whip etc.) to make a sharp noise. M17.
verb trans. Utter or tell, esp. suddenly or with eclat. Now only in crack a joke or with the spoken words of a joke or wisecrack as obj. ME.
T. Hoccleve Not a worde dar he crake. B. Schulberg 'Yeah,' Sammy cracked, 'you should have been there'.
verb intrans. Talk big, boast. Now dial. LME.
Carlyle My sleep was nothing to crack of.
b. verb trans. Claim boastfully that, a person or thing to be. M16-L17.
verb intrans. Discuss the news, gossip, chat. Scot. & north. LME.
II. With chief ref. to breaking.
verb trans. Break (esp. something hard and hollow) with a sudden sharp noise. ME.
N. Mosley His head was like an egg that you crack and it runs over the egg cup.
a. verb intrans. & trans. (Cause to) snap or break in two. arch. ME.
fig.: Shakespeare Cymbeline He could not But think her bond of chastity quite crack'd.
b. verb intrans. fig. Break down, give way, yield (to torture etc.), succumb to pressure. Cf. crack up (b) below. M17.
N. Mailer They both cracked...They couldn't stop laughing.
a. verb intrans. & trans. (Cause to) break without complete separation of parts. LME.
W. Salmon Some Colours..will crack when they are dry. D. W. Jerrold There's four glasses broke and nine cracked.
b. verb trans. Open up fissures in. M17.
c. verb trans. Break or crush (esp. corn) into small particles. US. M19.
transf. & fig.
a. verb trans. Damage (something immaterial) so that it is no longer sound. Formerly esp. in crack credit. M16.
Anthony Wood [This]..hath much crak'd his Reputation.
b. verb trans. Impair the reasoning power of. E17.
Steele Lest this hard..student should..crack his brain with studying.
c. verb trans. & intrans. With ref. to the voice, esp. in puberty or old age: make or become hoarse or dissonant, like a cracked bell. E17.
G. Vidal Gallus's voice cracked with anger.
verb trans. Open and drink (a bottle of liquor). colloq. L16.
verb trans. Find the solution to (a problem, code, etc.). E17.
verb trans. Break into (a house, safe, etc.). Criminals' slang. E18.
verb trans. Decompose (heavy oils) by heat or pressure so as to produce lighter hydrocarbons, such as petrol. M19.
III. Of sudden action.
verb trans. Move with a jerk or sudden movement; snatch out, clap on. M16.
verb intrans. Travel with speed; rush along, press on. Chiefly Nautical exc. in get cracking below. M19.
Phrases: crack a crib Criminals' slang burgle a house. crack hardy, crack hearty Austral. & NZ slang put on a show of courage in the face of misfortune or difficulty. crack on sail Nautical hoist additional sails to increase speed. crack the whip fig. enforce one's authority. get cracking colloq. set to work briskly. take a sledgehammer to crack a nut, use a sledgehammer to crack a nut: see SLEDGEHAMMER noun.
With adverbs in specialized senses: crack down colloq. take severe repressive measures (foll. by on, upon). crack up colloq. (a) extol, praise; in pass. (usu. in neg. contexts), be asserted in glowing terms to be; (b) collapse under strain etc., suffer a nervous breakdown; collapse with laughter.