Topic: CRIME
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| Language: | Old English |
| Origin: | cracian |
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crack1 S3
1 to break or to make something break, either so that it gets lines on its surface, or so that it breaks into pieces : Don't put boiling water in the glass or it will crack. Concrete is liable to crack in very cold weather. He picked up a piece of rock and cracked it in half. She fell and cracked a bone in her leg. He cracked a couple of eggs into a pan.
break
[intransitive and transitive]Don't put boiling water in the glass or it will crack.Concrete is liable to crack in very cold weather.He picked up a piece of rock and cracked it in half.She fell and cracked a bone in her leg.He cracked a couple of eggs into a pan.2 to make a quick loud sound like the sound of something breaking, or to make something do this : Thunder cracked overhead. He cracked his whip and galloped off.
sound
[intransitive and transitive]CThunder cracked overhead.He cracked his whip and galloped off.3 to hit someone or something hard
hit
[transitive]4 to be unable to continue doing something because there is too much pressure and you do not have the mental strength to continue
not be able to continue
[intransitive]MI crack under Some young executives crack under the pressure of having to meet tough sales targets every month. He cracked under interrogation and confessed.
Some young executives crack under the pressure of having to meet tough sales targets every month.He cracked under interrogation and confessed.5 if your voice cracks, it starts to sound different because you are feeling strong emotions : His voice cracked slightly as he tried to explain.
voice
[intransitive]His voice cracked slightly as he tried to explain.6 to find the answer to a problem or manage to understand something that is difficult to understand [= solve]:
solve/understand
[transitive]7 to stop a person from being successful : Political enemies have tried to crack me.
stop somebody
[transitive] informalPolitical enemies have tried to crack me.8 to open a safe illegally in order to steal the things inside it
open a safe
[transitive]SCC9TD to illegally copy computer software or change free software which may lack certain features of the full version, so that the free software works in the same way as the full version : You can find out how to crack any kind of software on the web.
computer
[transitive]You can find out how to crack any kind of software on the web.10 to manage to do something successfully : I think we've cracked it!
crack it
British English informalI think we've cracked it!12 to open a bottle of alcohol for drinking : We cracked open a few bottles.
crack open a bottle
British English informalWe cracked open a few bottles.13 to start doing something or going somewhere quickly : I think we need to get cracking if we're going to catch this train.
get cracking
informalI think we need to get cracking if we're going to catch this train.15 used to say that something is not as good as people say it is : I thought the film was OK, but it's not all it's cracked up to be.
something is not all/everything it's cracked up to be
informalI thought the film was OK, but it's not all it's cracked up to be.crack down
phrasal verbcrack into something
phrasal verbTD to secretly enter someone else's computer system, especially in order to damage the system or steal the information stored on it [↪ hack]: A teenager was accused of cracking into the company's network.
A teenager was accused of cracking into the company's network.crack on
phrasal verbcrack up
phrasal verb1 to laugh a lot at something, or to make someone laugh a lot : Everyone in the class just cracked up. She's so funny. She cracks me up.
crack (somebody) up
Everyone in the class just cracked up.She's so funny. She cracks me up.2 to become unable to think or behave sensibly because you have too many problems or too much work : I was beginning to think I was cracking up!
I was beginning to think I was cracking up!