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American Dictionary of the English Language

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Crack


CRACK, verb transitive

1. To rend, break, or burst into chinks; to break partially; to divide the parts a little from each other; as, to crack a board or a rock; or to break without an entire severance of the parts; as, to crack glass, or ice.

2. To break in pieces; as, to crack nuts.

3. To break with grief; to affect deeply; to pain; to torture; as, to crack the heart. We now use break , or rend.

4. To open and drink; as, to crack a bottle of wine. [Low.]

5. To thrust out, or cast with smartness; as, to crack a joke.

6. To snap; to make a sharp sudden noise; as, to crack a whip.

7. To break or destroy.

8. To impair the regular exercise of the intellectual faculties; to disorder; to make crazy; as, to crack the brain.

CRACK, verb intransitive

1. To burst; to open in chinks; as, the earth cracks by frost; or to be marred without an opening; as, glass cracks by a sudden application of heat.

2. To fall to ruin, or to be impaired.

The credit of the exchequer cracks, when little comes in and much goes out. [Not elegant.]

3. To utter a loud or sharp sudden sound; as, the clouds crack; the whip cracks.

4. To boast; to brag; that is, to utter vain, pompous, blustering words; with of.

The Ethiops of their sweet complexion crack [Not elegant.]

CRACK, noun [Gr.]

1. A disruption; a chinkor fissure; a narrow breach; a crevice; a partial separation of the parts of a substance, with or without an opening; as a crack in timber, in a wall, or in glass.

2. A burst of sound; a sharp or loud sound, uttered suddenly or with vehemence; the sound of any thing suddenly rent; a violent report; as the crack of a falling house; the crack of a whip.

3. Change of voice in puberty.

4. Craziness of intellect; or a crazy person.

5. A boast, or boaster. [Low.]

6. Breach of chastity; and a prostitute. [Low.]

7. A lad; an instant. [Not used.]