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Added 7 October 2026

crack

/kɹæk/ noun

In Latin: fatiscō Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about crack at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A long narrow opening.
A narrow opening.
he opened the window a crack
A long narrow depression in a surface.

verb

Become fractured; break or crack on the surface only.
The glass cracked when it was heated
Make a very sharp explosive sound.
His gun cracked
Make a sharp sound.
his fingers snapped

adjective

Of the highest quality.
an ace reporter

Origin

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”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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