crackling

noun

crack·​ling

plural cracklings

1

ˈkra-k(ə-)liŋ  : a series of small sharp cracking noises

the crackling of frozen snow as we walk

2

\ ˈkra-​klən , -​kliŋ \

a

: the crisp residue left after the rendering of lard from pig fat or the frying or roasting of pig skin

Want to know how to get perfect crisp crackling on roast pork?

—BBC Good Food (online)

… for me fat is a largely a textural pleasure, … and pork crackling is surely the supreme example of this: a blistered top, as dry and crunchy as an autumn leaf, hiding a layer of yielding, creamy fat beneath.

—Felicity Cloake

also : a piece of this residue

We feasted on … fresh hog cracklings from a road-side trailer north of Houston …

—Peter Richmond

b

: food or a piece of food that resembles crackling

duck cracklings

The great Simon Hopkinson, author of Roast Chicken and Other Stories, gave me—appropriately enough—a bag of chicken crackling as a present, and I pressed him for the recipe.

—Nigella Lawson

Examples of crackling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Like many Chilean musicians of your generation, your songs include plenty of folk references —the sharp crackling of wood, the purity of stringed instruments… Our tradition is anchored on the charango, cuatro and arpa paraguaya. —Ernesto Lechner, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2024

Vogue’s Standout Product: The Feu de Bois candle, with its smoky notes of birch and juniper, channels a crackling fire in a fairytale cottage. —Jenny Berg, Vogue, 12 Oct. 2024

Despite Callas' suffering, Jolie imbues her with a crackling wit and a diva-like yearning to be adulated. —Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 30 Sep. 2024

Jacobs gives these three crackling, perceptive actors plenty to work with and then steps back to capture their workaday magic. —Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 29 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

crackling

noun

crack·​ling

1

ˈkrak-(ə-)liŋ

: a series of small sharp crackling sounds

2

ˈkrak-lən,

ˈkrak-liŋ

: the crisp remainder left after the fat has been separated from the meat or skin (as of pork)

—usually used in plural