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Synonyms

cracked

American  
[krakt] / krækt /

adjective

  1. broken.

    a container full of cracked ice.

  2. broken without separation of parts; fissured.

  3. damaged; injured.

  4. Informal. eccentric; mad; daffy.

    a charming person, but a bit cracked.

  5. broken in tone, as the voice.

idioms

  1. cracked up to be, reported or reputed to be (usually used in the negative).

    I hear the play is not what it's cracked up to be.
cracked British  
/ krækt /

adjective

  1. damaged by cracking

  2. informal crazy

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • uncracked adjective

Etymology

Origin of cracked

First recorded in 1400–50, cracked is from the late Middle English word crachyd. See crack, -ed 2

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.

A mesh of data points reveal how the old model has cracked.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

Dating platform Match.com has cracked down on fake accounts, and says it now removes 50 every minute.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

Shockwaves from a March 9 airstrike also damaged tiles and cracked frescoes at the 17th-century Chehel Sotoun Palace in Isfahan.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Said Nichols: “Affordable options for senior living on college campuses have not largely been cracked before.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

My heart expanded and my words cracked as I spoke again.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

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.