Tra từ crack - Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

crack [crack cracks cracked cracking] verb, noun, adjective BrE [kræk] NAmE [kræk]
verb

BREAK
1. intransitive, transitive to break without dividing into separate parts; to break sth in this way
• The ice cracked as I stepped onto it.
•~ sth He has cracked a bone in his arm.
•Her lips were dry and cracked.
2. intransitive, transitive to break open or into pieces; to break sth in this way
•+ adv./prep. A chunk of the cliff had cracked off in a storm.
• (figurative) His face cracked into a smile.
•~ sth to crack a nut
•~ sth + adv./prep. She cracked an egg into the pan.

HIT
3. transitive ~ sth/sb (on/against sth) to hit sth/sb with a short hard blow
•I cracked my head on the low ceiling.
•He cracked me on the head with a ruler.

MAKE SOUND
4. intransitive, transitive to make a sharp sound; to make sth do this
•A shot cracked across the ridge. no passive
•~ sth He cracked his whip and galloped away.

OF VOICE
5. intransitive if your voice cracks, it changes in depth, volume, etc. suddenly and in a way that you cannot control
•In a voice cracking with emotion, he told us of his son's death.

UNDER PRESSURE
6. intransitive to no longer be able to function normally because of pressure
•Things are terrible at work and people are cracking under the strain.
•They questioned him for days before he cracked.
•The old institutions are cracking.

FIND SOLUTION
7. transitive ~ sth to find the solution to a problem, etc; to find the way to do sth difficult
•to crack the enemy's code
• (informal)After a year in this job I think I've got it cracked!

STOP SB/STH
8. transitive ~ sth to find a way of stopping or defeating a criminal or an enemy
•Police have cracked a major drugs ring.

OPEN BOTTLE
9. transitive ~ (open) a bottle (informal)to open a bottle, especially of wine, and drink it

A JOKE
10. transitive ~ a joke (informal)to tell a joke
more at a hard/tough nut (to crack) at ↑nut _n., use a sledgehammer to crack a nut at ↑sledgehammer
Verb forms:

Word Origin:
Old 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’.

Thesaurus:
crack verb I, T
•The ice cracked as I stepped on it.
break • • snap • • fracture •
crack/break/fracture a bone/rib
crack/fracture your skull
crack/break a a/an cup/egg/mirror
a cracked/broken/fractured pipe
Crack, break or fracture? Any of these words can be used for bones; break or fracture can be used for joints; only break can be used for arms and legs. Fracture is the usual word used for skulls, though crack can also be used.

Example Bank:
•He is under a lot of pressure but is showing no signs of cracking.
•He thought he'd never get through the ordeal without cracking up.
•The dish had cracked quite badly.
•The stresses of her job became too great and she finally cracked.
•to crack down hard on crime
•‘How's the investigation going?’ ‘I think we've cracked it.’
•A team of experts finally cracked the code.
•As I leapt up, I cracked my skull on a beam and passed out.
•He stood up suddenly, cracking his head on the low ceiling.
•The ice cracked as I stepped on it.
•The leather/mud/paint/plaster had cracked.
•We need some more solid evidence if we're going to crack the case.
Idioms: ↑at the crack of dawn ▪ ↑crack the whip ▪ ↑get cracking ▪ not all/everything somebody's cracked up to be
Derived: ↑crack down ▪ ↑crack on ▪ ↑crack somebody up ▪ ↑crack up

noun

BREAK
1. countable ~ (in sth) a line on the surface of sth 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.

NARROW OPENING
2. countable a narrow space or opening
• She peeped through the crack in the curtains.
• The door opened a crack (= a small amount).

SOUND
3. countable a sudden loud noise
•a crack of thunder
•the sharp crack of a rifle shot

HIT
4. countable ~ (on sth) a sharp blow that can be heard
•She fell over and got a nasty crack on the head.

ATTEMPT
5. countable ~ (at sth) | ~ (at doing sth) (informal)an occasion when you try to do sth
Syn: ↑attempt
•She hopes to have another crack at the world record this year.

DRUG
6. (also ˌcrack coˈcaine)uncountable a powerful, illegal drug that is a form of ↑cocaine
•a crack addict

JOKE
7. countable (informal)a joke, especially a critical one
•He made a very unfair crack about her looks.

CONVERSATION
8. (also craic)uncountable, singular (IrishE, informal)a good time; friendly, enjoyable talk
•Where's the crack tonight?
•He's a person who enjoys a drink and a bit of crack.
more at a fair crack of the whip at ↑fair _adj.

Word Origin:
Old 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’.

Thesaurus:
crack noun
•Cracks began to appear in the wall.
chink • • crevice • • cleft • |technical fissure •
a crack/chink/crevice/cleft/fissure in sth
a narrow crack/chink/crevice/cleft/fissure
a crack/fissure opens

Example Bank:
•A fine crack ran up the wall.
•A loud crack echoed off the empty walls.
•Could you open the window just a crack?
•He gave a crack of laughter.
•He gets really mad if anyone makes a crack about his weight.
•He had a good crack at opening the door, but it wouldn't budge.
•The chandelier hit the floor with a crack.
•There's a crack in the fence big enough to look through.
•We filled the cracks in the plaster before hanging the wallpaper.
•Wide cracks appeared in the ground during the drought.
•a tiny crack of light under the door
•She heard the sharp crack of a rifle shot.
•She peeped through a crack in the curtains.
•The cracks in the government's economic policy are already beginning to show.
•The door opened a crack.
•There was a deafening crack of thunder and the heavens opened.

adjective only before noun
expert and highly trained; excellent at sth
•crack troops
• He's a crack shot (= accurate and skilled at shooting).

Word Origin:
Old 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’.

Example Bank:
•They sent a group of crack troops to the area.

See also: ↑craic