crack-up

1 of 2

noun

ˈkrak-ˌəp 

1

: crash, wreck

an automobile crack-up

2

a

: a mental collapse : nervous breakdown

his wife's death brought on his crack-up

b

: collapse, breakdown

crack up

2 of 2

verb

cracked up; cracking up; cracks up

transitive verb

1

: praise, tout sense 1

wasn't all that it was cracked up to be

2

: to damage or destroy (a vehicle) by crashing

crack up a car

3

: to cause to laugh out loud

that joke really cracks him up

intransitive verb

1

: to damage or destroy a vehicle (as by losing control)

cracked up on a curve

2

: to laugh out loud

Synonyms

Noun

• breakdown
• nervous breakdown
• tailspin

Examples of crack-up in a Sentence

Noun

a crack-up required him to take a year off from work

two people were injured in a serious crack-up on the interstate

Verb

that sports car isn't all it's cracked up to be

the movie is being cracked up as the blockbuster of the summer

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The prevailing explanation for the Ordovician Impact Spike had long been that a large body in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter broke up as a result of a collision and the debris from that crack-up eventually found its way to Earth. —Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 18 Sep. 2024

And all the better to make his crack-up that much more disorienting and unsettling. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2023

Verb

Lamorne cracked up at the suggestion, then quietly orchestrated a face-to-face. —Angelique Jackson, Variety, 12 Oct. 2024

Another video from the same day shows the family of three cracking up together in the pool. —Emma Aerin Becker, People.com, 14 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1926, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1829, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

crack-up

1 of 2 noun

ˈkrak-ˌəp

: collision, wreck

crack up

2 of 2 verb

ˈkrak-ˈəp

1

: praise sense 1, tout

it's not all it's cracked up to be

2

: to cause or have a crack-up

crack up a car