crack

== English == === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /kɹæk/ Rhymes: -æk Homophone: craic === Etymology 1 === From Middle English crakken, craken, from Old English cracian (“to resound, crack”), from Proto-West Germanic *krakōn (“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)). ==== Verb ==== crack (third-person singular simple present cracks, present participle cracking, simple past and past participle cracked) (intransitive) To form cracks. (intransitive) To break apart under force, stress, or pressure. (intransitive) To become debilitated by psychological pressure. (intransitive) To break down or yield, especially under interrogation or torture. (intransitive) To make a cracking sound. (intransitive, of a voice) To change rapidly in register. (intransitive, of a person's voice during puberty) To alternate between high and low register in the process of eventually lowering. (intransitive) To make a sharply humorous comment. (intransitive, transgender slang) To realize that one is transgender. Synonym: one's egg cracks (transitive) To make a crack or cracks in. (transitive) To break open or crush to small pieces by impact or stress. (transitive) To strike forcefully. (transitive) To open slightly. (transitive, figurative) To cause to yield under interrogation or other pressure. (transitive, figurative) To solve a difficult problem. (transitive) To overcome a security system or component. (transitive) To cause to make a sharp sound. (transitive) To tell (a joke). (transitive, chemistry) To break down (a complex molecule), especially with the application of heat: to pyrolyse. (transitive, computing) To circumvent software restrictions such as regional coding or time limits. (transitive, informal) To open a canned beverage, or any packaged drink or food. (obsolete) To brag; to boast. (archaic, colloquial) To be ruined or impaired; to fail. (colloquial) To barely reach or attain (a measurement or extent). (mid 2020s slang) To have sex with a female or feminine person for the first time, especially penetrative sex. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:copulate, Thesaurus:copulate with (in general) To have sex. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== crazed (exhibiting fine-line cracks) ===== Translations ===== ===== See also ===== hack ==== Noun ==== crack (countable and uncountable, plural cracks) A thin and usually jagged space opened in a previously solid material. Synonyms: crevice, fissure A narrow opening. A sharply humorous comment; a wisecrack. (slang) Crack cocaine, a potent, relatively cheap, addictive variety of cocaine; often a rock, usually smoked through a crack-pipe. Synonyms: base, candy, crack rock, hard, rock, rocks, yay (figurative, humorous) Something good-tasting or habit-forming. kitty crack ― catnip (onomatopoeia) The sharp sound made when solid material breaks. Synonyms: pop, snap; see also Thesaurus:snap, Thesaurus:bang (onomatopoeia) Any sharp sound. A sharp, resounding blow. (informal) An attempt at something. (vulgar, slang) The vagina. Synonyms: crevice, gash; see also Thesaurus:vagina (informal) The space between the buttocks. Synonyms: (UK) arse crack, (US) ass crack, (US) buttcrack, (UK) bum crack; see also Thesaurus:gluteal cleft (Northern England, Scotland, Ireland) Conviviality; fun; good conversation, chat, gossip, or humorous storytelling; good company. Synonyms: bonhomie, craic, jollity, joviality, laugh, warmth 2004, Bill Griffiths, Dictionary of North East Dialect, Northumbria University Press (quoting Dunn, 1950) "his a bit o' good crack — interesting to talk to" (Cumbria, Northern UK) A chat. (Northern England, Scotland, Ireland) Business; events; news. (computing) A program or procedure designed to circumvent restrictions or usage limits on software. (hydrodynamics, US, dated) 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. Coordinate term: slick (Internet slang) Extremely silly, absurd or off-the-wall ideas or prose. The tone of voice when changed at puberty. (archaic) A mental flaw; a touch of craziness; partial insanity. (archaic) A crazy or crack-brained person. Synonym: crackpot (obsolete) A boast; boasting. Synonyms: brag, vaunt (obsolete) Breach of chastity. (obsolete) A boy, generally a pert, lively boy. Synonym: pistol (slang, dated, UK) A brief time; an instant; a jiffy. Synonyms: flash, moment, twink; see also Thesaurus:moment (African-American Vernacular, dated) The act of hitting on someone. (obsolete, gypsy slang) Dry firewood. ===== Usage notes ===== (Scots language, common in lowland Scotland and Ulster, conviviality): In recent decades, the word has been adopted into Gaelic as craic. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Descendants ===== → Finnish: crack → Swedish: crack ===== Translations ===== ===== References ===== (firewood): John Camden Hotten (1873), The Slang Dictionary (firewood): 1954, Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society (page 73) === 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. ==== Adjective ==== crack (not comparable) Highly trained and competent. Excellent, first-rate, superior, top-notch. ===== Derived terms ===== crack shot, crackshot crack train crack troops ===== Related terms ===== crackerjack ==== Noun ==== crack (plural cracks) (obsolete) One who excels; the best, especially a winning racehorse. ===== Descendants ===== → Catalan: crac → French: crack → German: Crack → Portuguese: craque → Spanish: crack → Italian: crack ===== Translations ===== ==== References ==== === Further reading === “crack”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “crack”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “crack”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. Joseph Wright, editor (1898), “CRACK”, in The English Dialect Dictionary: […], volume I (A–C), London: Henry Frowde, […], publisher to the English Dialect Society, […]; New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, →OCLC, pages 762–764. == Dutch == === Etymology === Borrowed from English crack. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /krɛk/ Rhymes: -ɛk === Noun === crack m (uncountable, no diminutive) crack (variety of cocaine) Hypernym: cocaïne ==== Derived terms ==== === Further reading === crack (drug) on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia nl == Finnish == === Etymology === From English crack. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈkræk/, [ˈkræk] Rhymes: -æk === Noun === crack crack (variety of cocaine) ==== Declension ==== === Further reading === “crack”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎[7] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023 == French == === Etymology === Borrowed from English crack. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /kʁak/ === Noun === crack m (plural cracks) (colloquial) champion, ace, expert Synonyms: champion, as C'est un crack en informatique. ― He/she is a computer whiz. (computing) crack (program or procedure designed to circumvent restrictions) === Noun === crack f (uncountable) crack cocaine === Further reading === “crack”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Portuguese == === Alternative forms === craque (adapted form) === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English crack (“crack cocaine, computer program”). === Pronunciation === === Noun === crack m (countable and uncountable, plural cracks) (uncountable) crack (crack cocaine) (countable, computing) crack (computer program for bypassing licenses and other restrictions) ==== Derived terms ==== === Further reading === “crack”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 “crack”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026 == Scots == === Etymology === Uncertain. Perhaps from Middle English craken (“to make a bursting sound; to speak”). Compare English crack, above. === Noun === crack (plural cracks) a moment, a short time, an instant (archaic, usually plural) an instance of bragging, a boast gossip, a story, conversation a person who gossips; an entertaining storyteller == Spanish == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈkɾak/ [ˈkɾak] Rhymes: -ak Syllabification: crack === Etymology 1 === Unadapted borrowing from English crack. ==== Noun ==== crack m (plural cracks) crack cocaine champion, ace, pro, wizard, dude (outstanding person) Eres un crack! ― You're the best! ===== Usage notes ===== According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed. === Etymology 2 === Borrowed from French krach, from German Krach. ==== Noun ==== crack m (plural cracks) misspelling of crac === Further reading === “crack”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025 == Swedish == === Etymology === Borrowed from English crack. === Noun === crack n or c (uncountable, colloquial) crack cocaine ==== Declension ====