crack up
English
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crack up
- /ˈkɹæk ˈʌp/
Where it comes from
Compare Japanese 笑う (warau, “laugh, smile”), suffixed from Japanese 割る (waru, “crack”), and Spanish partirse (“to split (intr.), to crack up”).
verb cracks up · cracking up · cracked up
- To laugh heartily. It was hilarious. We were cracking up the whole time.
- To cause to laugh heartily. The joke about the nuns in the bath cracked me up.
- To tease (someone) or tell jokes at the expense of (someone). He's always cracking up at me about that.
- To become insane; to suffer a mental breakdown. She got through the war, but cracked up when her sister died.
- To break down or fall apart; to stop functioning; to shatter. The university was really cracking up, losing faculty, students and donors, and it seemed like to go under.
- To separate a group. I have to crack up that little clique.
- To crash an aircraft or automobile. From all directions they came to the rescue, one predominant fear gripping their hearts: Fire! Someone had cracked-up. It was for this they sped. The flames that so frequently burst from a crashed airplane became an instantaneous cauldron; many a pilot has lived through the crash to die in the fire
- To remove the shell from nuts. We can send you a hundred pounds a month of pecans to crack up.
- To crack (petroleum). (to break down (a complex molecule), especially with the application of heat: to pyrolyse) The refinery cracks up the heavier oils.
- To praise or applaud (something); to promote a positive view of (something). She wasn't as impressive as Katie cracked her up.
- To insult, demean or harm the image of (something). Those who have been cracking up the agricultural industry will hopefully reconsider their denigration of it.
- To cry up; to extol. This new computer system is not what it was cracked up to be.
- To smoke crack cocaine. I need to crack up.
adjective more crack up · most crack up
- Funny; hilarious That joke was crack up.
Translations
Every language
verb to laugh
| Português | rachar o bico, gargalhar |
|---|---|
| Français | éclater de rire, pouffer de rire |
| Deutsch | in Lachen / Gelächter ausbrechen, kaputtlachen, schlapplachen |
| Русский | ло́паться от сме́ха lópatʹsja ot sméxa, ло́пнуть от сме́ха lópnutʹ ot sméxa |
verb to cause to laugh
| Français | faire rire |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | zum Lachen bringen |
verb to become insane
| Français | craquer, péter un plomb |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | den Verstand verlieren, durchdrehen, überschnappen |
Talk about this word "crack up." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/crack%20up. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. crack up. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/crack%20up "crack up." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/crack%20up.Cite this
@misc{crack_up_2026,
title = {crack up},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/crack%20up},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
