World Book 1997 4.0

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<HTML> <HEAD><TITLE>CRACK</TITLE></HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff"> <A HREF="a.dic">A</A> <A HREF="b.dic">B</A> <A HREF="c.dic">C</A> <A HREF="d.dic">D</A> <A HREF="e.dic">E</A> <A HREF="f.dic">F</A> <A HREF="g.dic">G</A> <A HREF="h.dic">H</A> <A HREF="i.dic">I</A> <A HREF="j.dic">J</A> <A HREF="k.dic">K</A> <A HREF="l.dic">L</A> <A HREF="m.dic">M</A> <A HREF="n.dic">N</A> <A HREF="o.dic">O</A> <A HREF="p.dic">P</A> <A HREF="q.dic">Q</A> <A HREF="r.dic">R</A> <A HREF="s.dic">S</A> <A HREF="t.dic">T</A> <A HREF="u.dic">U</A> <A HREF="v.dic">V</A> <A HREF="w.dic">W</A> <A HREF="x.dic">X</A> <A HREF="y.dic">Y</A> <A HREF="z.dic">Z</A> <A NAME="crack"> crack, noun, verb, adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD>noun 1a. a split or opening made by breaking without separating into parts. Ex. There is a crack in this cup. <DD> b. (Figurative.) a flaw or defect; weakness. Ex. There were no cracks in her character. We tried to paper over the cracks in the script's dialogue. <DD> 2. a narrow opening. Ex. I can see between the cracks in the floorboards. (SYN) cleft, fissure, crevice, chink. <DD> 3. a sudden, sharp noise. Ex. the crack of a whip or a rifle, a crack of thunder. (SYN) clap, report. <DD> 4. (Informal, Figurative.) a hard, sharp blow. Ex. The falling branch gave me a crack on the head. <DD> 5. (Informal.) an instant; moment. Ex. We got up at thecrack of dawn. I'll be with you in a crack. <DD> 6. (Informal.) a try; effort; attempt. Ex. to take a crack at dancing. I took a crack at the job and succeeded. <DD> 7. (Slang, Figurative.) a funny or clever remark; joke. <DD> 8. (Informal, Figurative.) a cutting remark; gibe. Ex. If he makes another crack about my singing, he'll be sorry. <DD> 9. unsoundness of mind. <DD> 10. (Informal.) a superior person or thing. Ex. She is a crack at skiing. <DD> 11. a cracking of the voice. <DD> 12. (Slang.) <DD> a. a burglary. <DD> b. a burglar. <DD> 13. (U.S.) an extremely potent, free-based form of cocaine with a short-term effect. Ex. Crack, a highly addictive form of cocaine, is available from most of the 50 drug dealers doing business in Washington Square Park and on Greenwich Village streets 24 hours a day (New York Times). <DD> 14. (Archaic.) a boast. <DD> 15. (Scottish.) a chat; gossip. <DD>v.i. 1. to break without separating into parts. Ex. The glass cracked when I poured boiling water into it. <DD> 2. to make a sudden, sharp noise; snap. Ex. The whip cracked. <DD> 3. to break with a sudden, sharp noise. Ex. The tree cracked and fell when lightning struck it. <DD> 4. to become harsh, broken, or shrill. Ex. His voice cracked with emotion. <DD> 5. (Informal.) to give way; break down. Ex. His mind cracked under the strain of working for three days without sleep. (SYN) fail, collapse. <DD> 6. (Dialect.) to boast; brag. <DD> 7. (Scottish.) to chat; gossip. <DD>v.t. 1. to break without separating into parts. Ex. You have cracked the window. (SYN) split, fracture. <DD> 2. to cause to make a sudden, sharp noise. Ex. The stagecoach driver cracked the whip. (SYN) snap. <DD> 3. to break with a sudden, sharp noise. Ex. We cracked the nuts. <DD> 4. to hit with a hard, sharp blow. Ex. The falling branch cracked me on the head. The boxer cracked his opponent on the jaw. (SYN) smack. <DD> 5. to make (the voice) harsh or shrill. <DD> 6. (Figurative.) to break into. Ex. The burglar cracked the safe. <DD> 7. (Informal, Figurative.) to break through. Ex. to crack the sound barrier. <DD> 8. (Informal.) to tell or say (something funny or clever). Ex. She cracked a joke. <DD> 9. (Figurative.) to figure out the meaning of (a code); decipher. Ex. In wartime, each enemy tries to crack the other's code. She once cracked a Chinese code without knowing Chinese (George S. Kaufman). <DD> 10. to separate (as petroleum or coal tar) into various substances. Ex. The refinery cracks petroleum to make gasoline. <DD> 11. to ruin; damage. Ex. to crack someone's reputation or credit. <DD> 12. to break with pain or grief. Ex. The death of his dog cracked the boy's heart. <DD> 13. (U.S. Informal, Figurative.) to open and use. Ex. He did not crack a book until the final examination. <DD> 14. (Obsolete.) a boast. Ex. Which he ... crackes to be a most soveraigne remedie (Robert Burton). <DD>adj. (Informal.) very good; excellent; first-rate. Ex. a crack train. Buffalo Bill was a crack shot. <DD>adv. with a crack; with a cracking sound. expr. crack down, (Informal.) to take stern measures. Ex. The police cracked down and hauled away cars that were double-parked. expr. cracked up, (Informal.) praised or claimed. Ex. This book is not what it is cracked up to be. expr. crack on, (British Informal.) to go on; carry on. Ex. Big John with his immense experience had things under his personal control ("Crack on, lads!" was a favorite Big John order) (Sunday Times). expr. crack up, <DD> a. to crash or smash. Ex. When the driver skidded off the road he cracked up his car against a tree. The airplane cracked up as it landed. <DD> b. to suffer a mental or physical collapse. Ex. She was in danger of cracking up under the strain of overworking. <DD> c. (U.S. Slang.) to laugh or cause to laugh uncontrollably; convulse with laughter. Ex. And then Fred shouts: "I am the great pumpkin!" The whole room cracks up (Harper's). adj. crackable. </DL> <A NAME="crackajack"> crackajack, noun, adjective. =crackerjack.</DL> <A NAME="crackbaby"> crack baby,<DL COMPACT><DD> a baby born with various disabilities or deformities caused by the mother's use of crack-cocaine while pregnant. Ex. The most widely cited estimate--[of] fetally exposed babies (or "crack babies") born per year--is much too high (Washington Post). </DL> <A NAME="crackbrain"> crackbrain, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a crazy or insane person. </DL> <A NAME="crackbrained"> crackbrained, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> crazy; insane. Ex. I cannot summarize here nine hundred pages of allegations that are usually crackbrained when they are not dishonest (Harper's). </DL> <A NAME="crackdown"> crackdown, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) the act of taking, or bringing to bear, stern measures or swift disciplinary action. </DL> <A NAME="cracked"> cracked, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. broken without separating into parts; broken coarsely. Ex. cracked ice, cracked wheat, a cracked cup. (SYN) fractured. <DD> 2. having harsh notes; lacking evenness; broken. Ex. The crying boy spoke in a cracked voice. (SYN) raucous. <DD> 3. (Informal.) crazy; insane. (SYN) deranged. </DL> <A NAME="cracker"> cracker, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a thin, crisp biscuit or wafer. Ex. a soda cracker. <DD> 2. a person or instrument that cracks. <DD> 3. a firecracker. Ex. This rowdy element later entered the grounds of Union Buildings ... climbed to the top of the adjoining General Botha statue and threw crackers (London Times). <DD> 4. a small paper roll which explodes when it is pulled at both ends; cosaque. It is used as a party favor and sometimes contains a motto, candy, or other surprise. <DD> 5. something put at the end of a whiplash to make a cracking sound. <DD> 6. (U.S. Dialect.) a poor white person living in the hills or backwoods of Georgia, Florida, or other Southern state (often used in an unfriendly way). <DD> 7. the apparatus used for cracking petroleum, in a refinery. <DD> 8. (Obsolete.) <DD> a. a boaster; braggart. <DD> b. a liar. </DL> <A NAME="crackerbarrel"> cracker barrel,<DL COMPACT><DD> an open barrel of salted crackers, formerly often found in American country stores. </DL> <A NAME="crackerbarrel"> cracker-barrel, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having the plainness, robust humor, and informality of country people; unsophisticated; down-to-earth. Ex. He has the cracker-barrel wit of a Will Rogers. </DL> <A NAME="crackerbeak"> cracker beak,<DL COMPACT><DD> a type of strong beak such as that of sparrows, grosbeaks, and other finches, used for cracking the hard shells of seeds which they eat. </DL> <A NAME="crackerjack"> crackerjack, noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Slang.) <DD>noun 1. a person or thing of superior ability or grade. Ex. He is a crackerjack at dominoes. <DD> 2. a kind of candied popcorn. <DD>adj. of superior ability or grade. Ex. a crackerjack motorboat. He had his bartenders--five crackerjack men--try to find out what you could put with ginger beer to make it more attractive (New Yorker). </DL> <A NAME="crackers"> crackers, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British Slang.) crazy; mad. Ex. Leatherjacket got it eventually we know that ... and then went crackers (Maurice Proctor). </DL> <A NAME="crackhead"> crackhead, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) a person addicted to crack (free-based cocaine). </DL> <A NAME="cracking"> cracking, noun, adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD>noun the process of changing certain hydrocarbons in petroleum and other oils into lighter hydrocarbons by heat and pressure and a catalyst. Cracking is used in producing ordinary gasoline. <DD>adj. (Informal.) 1. vigorous; brisk. Ex. a cracking pace. <DD> 2. thorough; complete. Ex. a cracking bore. <DD>adv. (Informal.) thoroughly. Ex. a cracking good race. expr. get cracking, (Informal.) to make a vigorous start; get going. Ex. The five-minute rest period was up; time to stop speculating and get cracking (Atlantic). </DL> <A HREF="crackle.dic">NEXT</A>