📒 to break without dividing into separate parts; to break something in this way
- The ice cracked as I stepped onto it.
- crack something He has cracked a bone in his arm.
- The dish had cracked quite badly.
📒 to break open or into pieces; to break something in this way
- + adv./prep. A chunk of the cliff had cracked off in a storm.
- (figurative) His face cracked into a smile.
- crack something to crack a nut
📒 to hit something/somebody in a short hard manner
- I cracked my head on the low ceiling.
- He cracked me on the head with a ruler.
- He stood up suddenly, cracking his head on the low ceiling.
📒 to make a sharp sound; to make something do this
- A shot cracked across the ridge.
- [no passive] crack something He cracked his whip and galloped away.
📒 if your voice cracks, it changes in depth, volume, etc. suddenly and in a way that you cannot control
- In a voice cracking with emotion, he told us of his son's death.
📒 to no longer be able to function normally because of pressure
- Things are terrible at work and people are cracking under the strain.
- They questioned him for days before he cracked.
- The old institutions are cracking.
📒 to find the solution to a problem, etc; to find the way to do something difficult
- to crack the enemy’s code
- (informal) After a year in this job I think I've got it cracked!
- ‘How's the investigation going?’ ‘I think we've cracked it.’
📒 to find a way of stopping or defeating a criminal or an enemy
- Police have cracked a major drugs ring.
📒 to open a bottle, especially of wine, and drink it
📒 to tell a joke
📒 to use your authority or power to make somebody work very hard, usually by treating them in a strict way
📒 to make jokes
- This entertainer can crack wise with the best of them.
📒 to begin immediately and work quickly
- There's a lot to be done, so let's get cracking.
📒 a difficult problem or situation to deal with
📒 not as good as people say
- He's not nearly such a good writer as he's cracked up to be.
📒 to use more force than is necessary