CRACK, v.t.

1. A disruption; a chink or 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. – Shak.
4. Craziness of intellect; or a crazy person. – Addison.
5. A boast, or boaster. [Low.]
6. Breach of chastity; and a prostitute. [Low.]
7. A lad; an instant. [Not used.]

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.] – Dryden.
3. To utter a loud or sharp sudden sound; as, the clouds crack; the whip cracks. – Shak.
4. To boast; to brag; that is; to utter vain, pompous, blustering words; with of. The Ethiops of their sweet complexion crack. [Not elegant.] – Shak.

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. – Shak.
4. To open and drink; as, to crock 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.

1. To break or burst, with or without entire separation of the parts; as, to crack glass; to crack nuts.
2. To burst or open in chinks; to break, with or without quite separating into parts.
   
   

   By misfortune it cracked in the coling.
   Boyle.

   The mirror cracked from side to side.
   Tennyson.

3. A partial separation of parts, with or without a perceptible opening; a chink or fissure; a narrow breach; a crevice; as, a crack in timber, or in a wall, or in glass.
4. Of superior excellence; having qualities to be boasted of.
   
   
   [Colloq.]

   One of our crack speakers in the Commons.
   Dickens.

5. To rend with grief or pain; to affect deeply with sorrow; hence, to disorder; to distract; to craze.
   
   

   O, madam, my old heart is cracked.
   Shak.

   He thought none poets till their brains were cracked.
   Roscommon.

6. To be ruined or impaired; to fail.
   
   
   [Collog.]

   The credit . . . of exchequers cracks, when little comes in and much goes out.
   Dryden.

7. Rupture; flaw; breach, in a moral sense.
   
   

   My love to thee is sound, sans crack or flaw.
   Shak.

8. To cause to sound suddenly and sharply; to snap; as, to crack a whip.
9. To utter a loud or sharp, sudden sound.
   
   

   As thunder when the clouds in autumn crack.
   Shak.

10. A sharp, sudden sound or report; the sound of anything suddenly burst or broken; as, the crack of a falling house; the crack of thunder; the crack of a whip.
    
    

    Will the stretch out to the crack of doom?
    Shak.

11. To utter smartly and sententiously; as, to crack a joke.
    
    
    B. Jonson.
12. To utter vain, pompous words; to brag; to boast; -- with of.
    
    
    [Archaic.]

    Ethoipes of their sweet complexion crack.
    Shak.

13. The tone of voice when changed at puberty.
    
    

    Though now our voices
    Have got the mannish crack.
    Shak.

14. To cry up; to extol; -- followed by up.
    
    
    [Low]

    To crack a bottle, to open the bottle and drink its contents. -- To crack a crib, to commit burglary. [Slang] -- To crack on, to put on; as, to crack on more sail, or more steam. [Colloq.]

15. Mental flaw; a touch of craziness; partial insanity; as, he has a crack.
16. A crazy or crack-brained person.
    
    
    [Obs.]

    I . . . can not get the Parliament to listen to me, who look upon me as a crack and a projector.
    Addison.

17. A boast; boasting.
    
    
    [Obs.] "Crack and brags." Burton. "Vainglorius cracks." Spenser.
18. Breach of chastity.
    
    
    [Obs.] Shak.
19. A boy, generally a pert, lively boy.
    
    
    [Obs.]

    Val. 'T is a noble child. Vir. A crack, madam.
    Shak.

20. A brief time; an instant; as, to be with one in a crack.
    
    
    [Eng. *** Scot. Colloq.]
21. Free conversation] friendly chat.
    
    
    [Scot.]

    What is crack in English? . . . A crack is . . . a chat with a good, kindly human heart in it.
    P. P. Alexander.