crack

Universal Words verb, noun, adjective verb break 1 to break without dividing into separate parts; to break sth in this way: [V] The ice cracked as I stepped onto it. * [VN] He has cracked a bone in his arm. * Her lips were dry and cracked. 2 to break open or into pieces; to break sth in this way: [V, +adv./prep.] A chunk of the cliff had cracked off in a storm. * (figurative) His face cracked into a smile. * [VN] to crack a nut * She cracked an egg into the pan. hit 3 [VN] ~ sth/sb (on / against sth) to hit sth/sb with a short hard blow: I cracked my head on the low ceiling. * He cracked me on the head with a ruler. make sound 4 to make a sharp sound; to make sth do this: [V] A shot cracked across the ridge. * [VN] [nopassive] He cracked his whip and galloped away. of voice 5 [V] 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. under pressure 6 [V] 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. find solution 7 [VN] to find the solution to a problem, etc.; to find the way to do sth difficult: to crack the enemy's code * (spoken) After a year in this job I think I've got it cracked! stop sb / sth 8 [VN] to find a way of stopping or defeating a criminal or an enemy: Police have cracked a major drugs ring. open bottle 9 [VN] ~ (open) a bottle (informal) to open a bottle, especially of wine, and drink it a joke 10 [VN] ~ a joke (informal) to tell a joke IDIOMS get cracking (informal) to begin immediately and work quickly: There's a lot to be done, so let's get cracking. not all, everything, etc. sb's cracked up to be (informal) not as good as people say: He's not nearly such a good writer as he's cracked up to be. moreatSLEDGEHAMMER PHRASALVERBS crack down (on sb/sth) to try harder to prevent an illegal activity and deal more severely with those who are caught doing it: Police are cracking down on drug dealers. relatednounCRACKDOWN crack on (with sth) (BrE, informal) to work hard at sth so that you finish it quickly; to pass or continue quickly: If we crack on with the painting we should finish it today. * Time was cracking on and we were nowhere near finished. crack up (informal) 1 to become ill, either physically or mentally, because of pressure: You'll crack up if you carry on working like this. 2 to start laughing a lot: He walked in and everyone just cracked up. crack sb up (informal) to make sb laugh a lot: Gill's so funny, she just cracks me up. noun break 1 [C] ~ (in sth) a line on the surface of sth where it has broken but not split into separate parts: This cup has a crack in it. * Cracks began to appear in the walls. * (figurative) The cracks (= faults) in the government's economic policy are already beginning to show. narrow opening 2 [C] a narrow space or opening: She peeped through the crack in the curtains. * The door opened a crack (= a small amount). sound 3 [C] a sudden loud noise: a crack of thunder * the sharp crack of a rifle shot hit 4 [C] ~ (on sth) a sharp blow that can be heard: She fell over and got a nasty crack on the head. attempt 5 [C] ~ (at sth)