2
a
: a mental collapse : nervous breakdown
his wife's death brought on his crack-up
cracked up; cracking up; cracks up
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
1
: to damage or destroy a vehicle (as by losing control)
cracked up on a curve
2
: to laugh out loud
Synonyms
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
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
Griff Griffin, Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024
Creation Lake is a raw, surprising reminder that cool isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.
—The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for crack-up 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
Playing two versions of Eggman in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 isn't all it's cracked up to be for Jim Carrey.
—Griff Griffin, Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024
Creation Lake is a raw, surprising reminder that cool isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.
—The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for crack-up
Dictionary Entries Near crack-up
Cite this Entry
“Crack-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crack-up. Accessed 29 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share