crack

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

v. t. pop, rend, explode, bang; crackle; break, split, burst, cleave, fracture, crush; informal, fail, bust, break down. —n. snap, break, fracture; crevice, crackle, craze, chink, flaw, cleft, rift, rent, fissure; slit, rut, groove, seam; pop, crash, clap; slang, attempt, try; slang, gibe (see wit); slang, cocaine (see drugs). See interval, disjunction, loudness, brittleness, furrow, undertaking. —adj., informal, expert (see skill).

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

Syn. first-rate, first-class, skilled; see able 1 , 2 , excellent .

n.

1. [An incomplete break]

Syn. fracture, split, cut, splintering; see break 1 , fracture 1 , 2 .

2. [A crevice]

Syn. chink, cleft, fissure, rift; see hole 1 , 2 .

3. [A cracking sound]

Syn. snap, clap, burst, report; see noise 1 .

4. [A blow]

Syn. hit, thwack, smack; see blow 1 .

5. [*A witty or sharp comment]

Syn. return, wisecrack, witticism, jest; see joke 2 , remark .

v.

1. [To make or become cracked]

Syn. split, fracture, shatter, craze; see break 1 , 2 , 3 .

2. [To make a noise of something breaking]

Syn. snap, crackle, bang, crash; see sound 1 .

3. [To damage]

Syn. injure, hurt, impair; see damage 1 .

4. [*To lose mental control]

Syn. break down, go to pieces, succumb, go crazy; see crack up 2 , weaken 1 , yield 1 .

5. [To solve]

Syn. figure out, answer, decipher, decode; see solve .

See Synonym Study at break .

• get cracking*,

Syn. get going, go, start, get a move on*; see begin 1 , move 1 .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. snap clap, crackle, pop, slap, bang, thunder, boom, report.

2. fracture break, split, cut, fragment, splinter, tear, rent, cleft, fissure, rupture.

3. hit blow, clout, clip, whack, pound, bang.

4. remark comment, observation, wisecrack, witticism, quip, *zinger, bon mot, *dig.

II

n.

Sl. rock cocaine. see cocaine

III

v.

1. snap clap, crackle, pop, slap, bang, thunder, boom.

2. fracture break, split, cut, fragment, splinter, shatter, smash, tear, cleave.

3. hit strike, clip, whack, clout.

4. lose composure *lose it, go crazy, *bug out, have a nervous breakdown, *go to pieces.

5. solve or break, as a code decipher, decode, work out, figure out.

IV

a.

*crackerjack, first-rate, superior, ace, expert, proficient, master.

ANT.: inferior, mediocre, sceondrate

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To undergo partial breaking: fissure, fracture, rupture, split. See HELP. 2. To make a sudden sharp, explosive noise: bang, bark, clap, pop1, snap. See SOUNDS. 3. To find the key to (a code, for example): break, decipher, decrypt, puzzle out. See KNOWLEDGE. 4. To give way mentally and emotionally: break (down), collapse, snap. Informal: crack up, fold. See EXPLOSION. 5. To suddenly lose all health or strength: break (down), cave in, collapse, drop, give out, succumb. Informal: crack up. Slang: conk out. Idiom: give way. See HEALTH. II noun 1. A sudden sharp, explosive noise: bang, bark, clap, explosion, pop1, rat-a-tat-tat, report, snap. See SOUNDS. 2. A usually narrow partial opening caused by splitting and rupture: break, chink, cleavage, cleft, crevice, fissure, rift, split. See OPEN. 3. A sudden sharp, powerful stroke: bang, blow2, clout, hit, lick, pound, slug3, sock, swat, thwack, welt, whack, wham, whop. Informal: bash, biff, bop, clip1, wallop. Slang: belt, conk, paste. See ATTACK, STRIKE. 4. A trying to do or make something: attempt, effort, endeavor, essay, go, offer, stab, trial, try. Informal: shot. Slang: take. Archaic: assay. See TRY. 5. A brief trial: go, stab, try. Informal: fling, shot, whack, whirl. See TRY. 6. A flippant or sarcastic remark: dig, quip. Slang: wisecrack. See RESPECT, WORDS. 7. A very brief time: flash, instant, minute1, moment, second1, trice, twinkle, twinkling, wink. Informal: jiff, jiffy. Chiefly British: tick. See BIG, TIME. III adjective Having or demonstrating a high degree of knowledge or skill: adept, expert, master, masterful, masterly, professional, proficient, skilled, skillful. Slang: cracker jack. See ABILITY.