wisecrack
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
-
wisecracks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wisecracked,
past participle, past
-
wisecracking
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
wisecracks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wisecracked,
past participle, past
-
wisecracking
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wisecracksimple
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wisecrackssimple
-
have wisecrackedperfect
-
has wisecrackedperfect
-
am wisecrackingprogressive
-
are wisecrackingprogressive
-
is wisecrackingprogressive
-
have been wisecrackingperfect progressive
-
has been wisecrackingperfect progressive
Past
-
wisecrackedsimple
-
had wisecrackedperfect
-
was wisecrackingprogressive
-
were wisecrackingprogressive
-
had been wisecrackingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wisecrack
Explanation
A wisecrack is a funny joke or a sarcastic remark that makes someone laugh. The class clown is usually famous for their wisecracks. You can use this informal word as a verb, too: "How can I know when you're serious if you just wisecrack constantly?" Wisecrack first appeared at the start of the 20th century, from a now-uncommon sense of the verb crack, "speak loudly or boastingly," which is also used in the phrase "to crack a joke." It takes more than wisecracks to be a successful comedian, but it's a good start!
Vocabulary lists containing wisecrack
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Red Kayak
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It’s tempting to recycle an old wisecrack and call “One Shot With Ed Sheeran” the kind of Ed Sheeran thing you’ll like if you like this kind of Ed Sheeran thing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
Yet none of the furry or feathered stars of this meditative, wondrous adventure need to wisecrack their way into our hearts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2024
In the aftermath of her cable show being canceled last April, Ziwe has spent her post Showtime period being online famous in continuing her spicy brand of witty, wisecrack colloquial humor.
From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2024
The wisecrack summed up Bedi in many ways: an irreverent personality, and a rebel of sorts.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2023
I tried to try to make a wisecrack about him mistaking me for a football, but blacked out before I could say it.
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
Coincidences and wisecracks abound in this fast-paced caper: Think “Knives Out” meets “Fargo.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
JD Vance stinks at wisecracks, and Trump hates being mocked.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2024
It was all in good fun — and judging by all the laughter and wisecracks throughout the videos, all three thoroughly enjoyed what one can only imagine was a typical night at the James household.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2024
"Parker offers immaculate room service as she delivers polished rounds of rueful wisecracks."
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2024
Jonah thought maybe Chip was trying to sound like the donkey from Shrek—carefree, glib, and full of wisecracks even in the face of danger.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
After asking Warsh to stand, Trump wisecracked that he would sue him if he failed to lower rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026
The bond also involved friendly rivalry and humor: “I never knew I’d be married to somebody that old,” he wisecracked when Rosalynn was 91.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 17, 2023
“I would trade it in a minute, if I could just be a wife and mother,” wisecracked the gold lamé-wrapped, gum-chewing Tenuta, who accepted her award from Carlin.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 6, 2022
"Good. I didn't feel a thing," she wisecracked.
From Salon ● May 10, 2020
“And—Oh! I know!—it’ll help if anyone ever invents a time machine,” Jeremy Evers wisecracked.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Mr. Chandler certainly gets it, making Hal a wisecracking, long-suffering delinquent who’s as charming as he is insubordinate—not an original type, perhaps, but the actor makes his character the magnetic force of the whole series.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The bill opened with an onstage, truncated ballet class, with Erán Fink at the piano, conducted by Tomas Karlborg, the group’s wisecracking ballet master.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026
More familiar as a wisecracking action hero in blockbusters like Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World, this role is quite a departure for him.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2026
Holliday portrayed Florence “Flo” Jean Castleberry, a wisecracking waitress who coined the show’s popular catchphrase, “Kiss my grits.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2025
But Dan did make an effort to branch out, landing the role of a wisecracking detective in the school play.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
