🪟 To break partly 🕳️ A narrow opening 💊 A drug 🔊 A sharp noise 🔊 To make a noise 😰 To break down 💻 To hack 🎯 An opportunity 😄 To tell a joke 🏅 Excellent 🏆 To surpass 😄 A quick joke ⚗️ To split chemicals

to crack

35 6.3

To pass an important limit or level

verb
/kræk/

: superar

There's a lot we can make better if we crack this case.

I'm thinking of a young writer, musician or whatever trying to crack that, that nut.

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Examples

I want to, even if it's to crack that barrier, I want to move that barrier as much as I can.

Film Courage
" I'm the guy who cracked this case wide open.

Fiction book (1991)
But, I mean, we do need someone to crack through.

Club Random Podcast
But I think that that helps crack the door open to that conversation more.
You may work for years before you crack a big client.

Fiction book (1997)
However, there was one market still left to crack.

David Beckham: Infamous (2022)
Connor is out the door unless we crack this.

Little (2019)
In that regard, two home-grown Brazilian companies stand out for their success in cracking the export market.

Academic text (2009)
You'll crack it eventually.

Wolfs (2024)
After months of effort, the team finally managed to crack the sales record for the company.

Synonyms

to break

vsto crack

291 3.1

To do better than a previous record

is about passing an important barrier or threshold often in quantity or achievement

to break through

vsto crack

71 4.2

To overcome a difficulty after many tries and succeed

is more about reaching or passing a clear barrier or measurable threshold

Antonyms

to fail

∞ 1.0

Not succeed in doing something you wanted to do

to fall short

91 3.9

Fail to reach the level people expect

Idioms

to crack the whip

9 6.8

To use firm authority to make people work harder and follow rules

to crack a skull

NSFW

1 8.8

To get a serious head injury that breaks the skull

to crack a nut

Informal

1 7.3

To use much more force or effort than needed to solve a small problem

crack kills

NSFW

9.3

A warning slogan saying crack cocaine can kill people

to employ a steam engine to crack a nut

Informal

9.5

To use much more effort or help than needed to do a small task

sledgehammer to crack a nut

Informal

8.5

To use far more force or effort than needed for a small task

Phrasal Verbs

to crack down

82 3.8

To take strong action to stop illegal or wrong behavior

to crack up

Informal

67 3.5

To laugh loudly and without control

to crack open

66 2.6

Open something like a bottle or box to get what is inside

to crack the code

20 5.7

To find the secret meaning or solution in something difficult

to take a crack at

Informal

16 4.9

To try to do something, often for the first time

to crack on

9 6.8

To keep working on something quickly and with energy

to crack up

Informal

4 7.4

To have a nervous breakdown because of too much stress

to crack a joke

Informal

4 2.9

Tell a joke to make people laugh

to crack through

1 6.4

To work quickly to finish many tasks in a short time

to fix the crack

1 1.4

To repair a break or hole in a surface so it is smooth and whole again

to crack a problem

1 3.9

Find a way to solve a hard problem

Compounds

crack cocaine

NSFW

29 6.6

A very strong illegal drug people smoke that causes a strong addiction

crack of dawn

Informal

20 3.2

Very early in the morning when the sun first appears

crack addict

NSFW

11 6.1

A person who uses crack cocaine and cannot stop

crack whore

Offensive

8 9.9

An offensive word for a woman who exchanges sex for crack cocaine, often because she is addicted

crack shot

4 6.5

A person who hits targets very accurately with a gun

crack-up

4 7.2

A sudden emotional breakdown or a sudden burst of laughter

crack of doom

Archaic

1 9.9

The day when God judges everyone and the world ends

quarter crack

Specialized

1 9.9

A vertical crack on the inside of a horse's front hoof that can make the horse limp

creamy crack

Slang

1 9.9

A creamy food that people find very hard to stop eating

fatigue crack

Specialized

1 7.0

A break in metal or hard material caused by repeated stress

crack willow

1 8.2

A large tree with stiff branches that break easily, often growing by rivers

ab crack

Jargon

9.6

A visible straight line that appears down the middle of the belly from strong stomach muscles

plastic crack

Slang

9.9

A strong want to collect plastic toys like action figures or models

sand crack

Specialized

9.8

A vertical crack in a horse's hoof that can cause pain

toe crack

Specialized

9.9

A crack at the front of a horse's hoof that can make the horse limp

How Much

to surpass

99 4.6

to crack

35 6.3

to pass

44 3.4

Surface Forms

crack infinitive

cracked past

cracked past participle

cracking present participle

cracks third person singular

Etymology

To crack a record or limit means to break through an important barrier, and the word keeps the image of breaking. So to 'crack' a time or number is to pass that limit.