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CRACK
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of cracking something
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("crack" is a kind of...):
break; breakage; breaking (the act of breaking something)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A usually brief attempt
Example:
I gave it a whirl
Synonyms:
crack; fling; go; offer; pass; whirl
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("crack" is a kind of...):
attempt; effort; endeavor; endeavour; try (earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A purified and potent form of cocaine that is smoked rather than snorted; highly addictive
Synonyms:
crack; crack cocaine; tornado
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("crack" is a kind of...):
cocain; cocaine (a narcotic (alkaloid) extracted from coca leaves; used as a surface anesthetic or taken for pleasure; can become powerfully addictive)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A narrow opening
Example:
he opened the window a crack
Synonyms:
crack; gap
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("crack" is a kind of...):
opening (a vacant or unobstructed space that is man-made)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "crack"):
blank; lacuna (a blank gap or missing part)
spark gap (the gap between two high-potential terminals)
Sense 5
Meaning:
A blemish resulting from a break without complete separation of the parts
Example:
there was a crack in the mirror
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("crack" is a kind of...):
blemish; defect; mar (a mark or flaw that spoils the appearance of something (especially on a person's body))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "crack"):
craze (a fine crack in a glaze or other surface)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Witty remark
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("crack" is a kind of...):
comment; input; remark (a statement that expresses a personal opinion or belief or adds information)
Derivation:
crack (tell spontaneously)
Sense 7
Meaning:
A sudden sharp noise
Example:
he can hear the snap of a twig
Synonyms:
crack; cracking; snap
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("crack" is a kind of...):
noise (sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound))
Sense 8
Meaning:
A long narrow opening
Synonyms:
cleft; crack; crevice; fissure; scissure
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("crack" is a kind of...):
gap; opening (an open or empty space in or between things)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "crack"):
vent; volcano (a fissure in the earth's crust (or in the surface of some other planet) through which molten lava and gases erupt)
split (a lengthwise crack in wood)
slit (a narrow fissure)
rift (a narrow fissure in rock)
break; fault; faulting; fracture; geological fault; shift ((geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other)
fatigue crack (a crack in metal resulting from metal fatigue)
crevasse (a deep fissure)
chink (a narrow opening as e.g. between planks in a wall)
chap (a crack in a lip caused usually by cold)
Derivation:
crack (break partially but keep its integrity)
Sense 9
Meaning:
A long narrow depression in a surface
Synonyms:
chap; crack; cranny; crevice; fissure
Classified under:
Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes
Hypernyms ("crack" is a kind of...):
depression; impression; imprint (a concavity in a surface produced by pressing)
Sense 10
Meaning:
A chance to do something
Example:
he wanted a shot at the champion
Synonyms:
crack; shot
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("crack" is a kind of...):
chance; opportunity (a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Of the highest quality
Example:
she is absolutely tops
Synonyms:
A-one; ace; crack; first-rate; super; tiptop; top-notch; topnotch; tops
Classified under:
Similar:
superior (of high or superior quality or performance)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
III. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they crack ... he / she / it cracks
Past simple: cracked
Past participle: cracked
-ing form: cracking
Sense 1
Meaning:
Break into simpler molecules by means of heat
Example:
The petroleum cracked
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "crack" is one way to...):
change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)
Domain category:
chemical science; chemistry (the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Derivation:
cracking (the process whereby heavy molecules of naphtha or petroleum are broken down into hydrocarbons of lower molecular weight (especially in the oil-refining process))
Sense 2
Meaning:
Reduce (petroleum) to a simpler compound by cracking
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "crack" is one way to...):
break down; break up; decompose (separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts)
Cause:
crack (break into simpler molecules by means of heat)
Domain category:
chemical science; chemistry (the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Derivation:
cracking (the process whereby heavy molecules of naphtha or petroleum are broken down into hydrocarbons of lower molecular weight (especially in the oil-refining process))
Sense 3
Meaning:
Become fractured; break or crack on the surface only
Example:
The glass cracked when it was heated
Synonyms:
break; check; crack
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "crack" is one way to...):
change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)
Verb group:
check; chink (make cracks or chinks in)
crack (cause to become cracked)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "crack"):
crack (break partially but keep its integrity)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Sentence examples:
The glass tubes crack
These glasses crack easily
Sense 4
Meaning:
Cause to become cracked
Example:
heat and light cracked the back of the leather chair
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "crack" is one way to...):
alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)
Verb group:
break; check; crack (become fractured; break or crack on the surface only)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "crack"):
check; chink (make cracks or chinks in)
fissure (break into fissures or fine cracks)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sentence example:
They crack the glass tubes
Sense 5
Meaning:
Break suddenly and abruptly, as under tension
Example:
The pipe snapped
Synonyms:
crack; snap
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "crack" is one way to...):
break; come apart; fall apart; separate; split up (become separated into pieces or fragments)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sense 6
Meaning:
Break partially but keep its integrity
Example:
The glass cracked
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "crack" is one way to...):
break; check; crack (become fractured; break or crack on the surface only)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "crack"):
chap (crack due to dehydration)
craze (develop a fine network of cracks)
alligator (crack and acquire the appearance of alligator hide, as from weathering or improper application; of paint and varnishes)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Derivation:
crack (a long narrow opening)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Pass through (a barrier)
Example:
Registrations cracked through the 30,000 mark in the county
Synonyms:
break through; crack
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "crack" is one way to...):
pass (go across or through)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Sense 8
Meaning:
Tell spontaneously
Example:
crack a joke
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "crack" is one way to...):
narrate; recite; recount; tell (narrate or give a detailed account of)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
crack (witty remark)
Sense 9
Meaning:
Hit forcefully; deal a hard blow, making a cracking noise
Example:
The teacher cracked him across the face with a ruler
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "crack" is one way to...):
hit (deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody with something
Sentence example:
The fighter managed to crack his opponent
Derivation:
cracking (the act of cracking something)
Sense 10
Meaning:
Suffer a nervous breakdown
Synonyms:
break up; collapse; crack; crack up; crock up
Classified under:
Hypernyms (to "crack" is one way to...):
get; have; suffer; sustain (undergo (as of injuries and illnesses))
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Sense 11
Meaning:
Make a sharp sound
Example:
his fingers snapped
Synonyms:
crack; snap
Classified under:
Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling
Hypernyms (to "crack" is one way to...):
go; sound (make a certain noise or sound)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
cracker (a party favor consisting of a paper roll (usually containing candy or a small favor) that pops when pulled at both ends)
Sense 12
Meaning:
Make a very sharp explosive sound
Example:
His gun cracked
Classified under:
Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling
Hypernyms (to "crack" is one way to...):
go; sound (make a certain noise or sound)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Derivation:
cracker (firework consisting of a small explosive charge and fuse in a heavy paper casing)
cracking (a sudden sharp noise)
Sense 13
Meaning:
Gain unauthorized access computers with malicious intentions
Example:
crack a safe
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "crack" is one way to...):
break; break in (enter someone's (virtual or real) property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
cracker (a programmer who cracks (gains unauthorized access to) computers, typically to do malicious things)
Context examples:
Significantly more water was lost from cracks and soil within fractured mountain rock during drought and gained during heavy precipitation than hydrology models show.
(Sierras Lost Water Weight, Grew Taller During Drought, NASA)
Then he flung open the window, and putting his knife through the crack in the shutters, he thrust the bar up and swung them open.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I didn’t think there was a soul in England who didn’t know Godfrey Staunton, the crack three-quarter, Cambridge, Blackheath, and five Internationals.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A lot of jobs seem to be about to flow to you, so you will need a system, lest important details fall through the cracks.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
A floating fleck of paint is thought to have cracked a window on the International Space Station.
(Australia Developing Lasers to Track, Destroy Space Junk, VOA)
The remnant of the Larsen B Ice Shelf is flowing faster, becoming increasingly fragmented and developing large cracks.
(Antarctica’s Larsen B Ice Shelf Nearing Its Final Act, NASA)
And thus she had some joke to crack upon every one: but she laughed more than all at a good king who was there.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
Crack is smoked in a small glass pipe.
(Cocaine, NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse)
Presentation of this disorder can range from white streaks to brown stains and cracks or pits in the tooth enamel.
(Dental Fluorosis, NCI Thesaurus)
“It was crimson,” said he, with a shudder—“crimson with black cracks, and from every crack—but I will give you dreams, sister Mary.”
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
