crackerjack

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈkrækɚˌdʒæk/ UK /ˈkrækədʒæk/ See IPA manual

adj noun

Meanings

1

adj
exceptionally good or skilled; an outstanding person or thing

They hired a crackerjack lawyer who never lost a case.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · exceptionally good or... expert ace virtuoso crack first-rate outstanding superb

Opposites

incompetent mediocre amateur

Word family

Related forms cracker crack

Etymology

A fanciful American coinage of the late 19th century, an elaboration of 'cracker' (in the slang sense 'something excellent') with a rhyming '-jack' element.

Topics

People & Society

# crackerjack

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** ˈkrækɚˌdʒæk
**IPA (UK):** ˈkrækədʒæk

## Meanings
1. exceptionally good or skilled; an outstanding person or thing

## Examples
- They hired a crackerjack lawyer who never lost a case.

## Synonyms
- expert
- ace
- virtuoso
- crack
- first-rate
- outstanding
- superb

## Antonyms
- incompetent
- mediocre
- amateur

## Related Forms
- cracker
- crack

## Etymology
A fanciful American coinage of the late 19th century, an elaboration of 'cracker' (in the slang sense 'something excellent') with a rhyming '-jack' element.

## AI Etymology
Crackerjack is a fanciful American coinage of the late 19th century, an elaboration of 'cracker' (in the slang sense 'something excellent') with a rhyming '-jack' element. In present use as adjective and noun, it means "exceptionally good or skilled; an outstanding person or thing", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Its colloquial history matters: the word belongs to informal usage before settling into the present dictionary sense. Related words include cracker and crack. Its contrast set includes incompetent, mediocre, and amateur, which clarifies the semantic boundary of the modern word.

## Topics
- People & Society

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crackerjack

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