- [countable] crack (in something) a line on the surface of something 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.
Extra Examples- A fine crack ran up the wall.
- We filled the cracks in the plaster before hanging the wallpaper.
- Wide cracks appeared in the ground during the drought.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- deep
- huge
- …
- appear
- develop
- spread
- …
- [countable] a narrow space or opening
- She peeped through the crack in the curtains.
- The door opened a crack (= a small amount).
Extra Examples- Could you open the window just a crack?
- There's a crack in the fence big enough to look through.
- a tiny crack of light under the door
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- narrow
- small
- tiny
- …
- fill
- seal
- appear
- open up
- widen
- …
- crack in
- a crack of light
- open a door, window, etc. a crack
- [countable] a sudden loud noise
- There was a deafening crack of thunder and the heavens opened.
- She heard the sharp crack of a rifle shot.
Extra ExamplesTopics Weatherc2- A loud crack echoed off the empty walls.
- He gave a crack of laughter.
- The chandelier hit the floor with a crack.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- loud
- resounding
- sharp
- …
- hear
- echo
- with a crack
- crack of
- the crack of a whip
- a crack of thunder
- [countable] crack (on something) a sharp, hard hit that can be heard
- She fell over and got a nasty crack on the head.
- [countable] crack (at something) | crack (at doing something) (informal) an occasion when you try to do something synonym attempt
- She hopes to have another crack at the world record this year.
- He had a good crack at opening the door, but it wouldn't budge.
- (also crack cocaine)[uncountable] a powerful, illegal drug that is a form of cocaine
- a crack addict
- [countable] (informal) a joke, especially a critical one
- He made a very unfair crack about her looks.
- He gets really mad if anyone makes a crack about his weight.
- (also craic)[uncountable, singular] (Irish English, informal) a good time; friendly, lively talk
- Where's the crack tonight?
- He's a person who enjoys a drink and a bit of crack.
break
narrow opening
sound
hit
attempt
drug
joke
conversation
Word OriginOld English cracian ‘make an explosive noise’; of Germanic origin; related to Dutch kraken and German krachen. Sense (8) of the noun is from Irish craic ‘entertaining conversation’.
Idioms
See crack in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee crack in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishat the crack of dawn
- (informal) very early in the morning
- I have to get up at the crack of dawn.
a fair crack of the whip
- (British English, informal) a reasonable opportunity to show that you can do something
- I felt we weren't given a fair crack of the whip.
fall/slip through the cracks
(also slip through the net)
- when somebody/something falls or slips through the cracks, an organization or a system fails to find them and deal with them
- We tried to contact all former students, but one or two slipped through the cracks.
Check pronunciation:
crack