crack

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A line on a surface where something has broken but not separated.

   There was a crack in the mirror.

2. 2
   noun

   A narrow opening or gap.

   I opened the window a crack to let the smoke escape.

3. 3
   noun

   A sudden sharp noise.

   We heard the crack of a whip in the distance.

4. 4
   verb

   To break so that a line or split appears, without falling apart.

   The screen cracked when I dropped my phone.

5. 5
   noun

   A quick attempt at doing something.

   Let me have a crack at fixing the computer.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Crack comes from an Old English verb meaning “to make a sudden sharp or explosive noise.” The name crack cocaine arose in the 1980s from the cracking sounds made when its crystals are heated. The Irish sense “lively conversation or socializing,” recorded from the 1920s, came from a Scottish use meaning “chat” and is also spelled craic.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gerh₂- Proto-Indo-European *gerg-der. Proto-Germanic *krakōną Proto-West Germanic *krakōn Old English cracian Middle English crakken English crack From Middle English crakken, craken, from Old English cracian (“to resound, crack”), from Proto-West Germanic *krakōn, from Proto-Germanic *krakōną (“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 (…

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary