Synonyms of cracks

cracks 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of crack

1

as in pops

to break suddenly with an explosive sound

the tree branch unexpectedly cracked under our weight

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pops
• snaps
• splits
• crackles
• explodes
• shatters
• bursts
• hisses
• rends
• clicks
• sputters
• rives
• clatters
• sizzles
• clacks

2

as in chokes

to yield to mental or emotional stress

after hours of tough questioning the suspect finally cracked and blurted out a confession

Synonyms & Similar Words

• chokes
• loses it
• falls apart
• melts down
• goes to pieces
• freaks (out)
• breaks down
• flips (out)
• breaks up
• wigs (out)
• goes off the deep end
• blows one's cool

3

as in deciphers

to change (as a secret message) from code into ordinary language

the United States military used the Navajo language as a code during World War II, and the enemy never cracked it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deciphers
• breaks
• decrypts
• decodes
• solves
• translates
• renders
• unravels
• works
• unscrambles
• works out
• figures out
• descrambles
• puzzles (out)
• unriddles
• dopes (out)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• codes
• encodes
• encrypts
• ciphers
• enciphers
• mixes (up)
• garbles
• jumbles (up)

4

as in knocks

to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner

cracked the bow of the ship with a champagne bottle

Synonyms & Similar Words

• knocks
• hits
• slaps
• smacks
• punches
• bangs
• slams
• claps
• clips
• strikes
• whacks
• pounds
• swipes
• nails
• bats
• boxes
• thumps
• bashes
• taps
• kicks
• hammers
• pokes
• socks
• licks
• raps
• thwacks
• bumps
• belts
• shoves
• slugs
• chops
• jabs
• flicks
• pastes
• pushes
• busts
• zaps
• swats
• tags
• clocks
• clouts
• bobs
• bops
• bonks
• smites
• stabs
• bludgeons
• biffs
• whales
• clobbers
• wallops
• strokes
• slogs
• scuffs
• knees
• beats
• hangs one on
• mauls
• stamps
• slashes
• cuffs
• pummels
• pelts
• batters
• peppers
• jostles
• decks
• roughs
• butts
• floors
• buffets
• dumps
• mangles
• lashes
• lambasts
• whips
• laces
• drubs
• lambastes
• levels
• prods
• bowls (down or over)
• clubs
• bungs
• brains
• bunts
• fells
• beans
• conks
• pommels
• saps
• skulls
• knocks down
• flails
• switches
• creams
• canes
• spears
• thrashes
• sucker punches
• flogs
• cudgels
• sledges
• sledgehammers
• rabbit-punches

5

as in solves

to find an answer for through reasoning

I've been mulling this riddle, but I just can't crack it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• solves
• unravels
• answers
• resolves
• works
• breaks
• works out
• figures out
• puzzles (out)
• deciphers
• riddles (out)
• unriddles
• concludes
• decides
• gathers
• dopes (out)
• judges
• reasons
• deduces
• infers
• guesses
• straightens (out)
• speculates
• unties
• assumes
• presumes
• clears (up)
• conjectures
• divines
• irons out
• unscrambles
• decodes
• untangles

6

as in crazes

to cause to go insane or as if insane

cracked by years in solitary confinement, the prisoner could only maunder incoherently

Synonyms & Similar Words

• crazes
• bothers
• unbalances
• disturbs
• upsets
• unhinges
• distracts
• unsettles
• confuses
• deranges
• maddens
• annoys
• unstrings
• irritates
• locos
• frenzies
• disquiets
• perturbs
• agitates
• discomposes
• vexes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• settles
• relaxes
• soothes
• calms
• quiets
• tranquillizes
• tranquilizes

cracks

2 of 2

noun

plural of crack

1

as in fissures

an irregular usually narrow break in a surface created by pressure

a pebble struck the car's windshield and left a spidery crack in it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fissures
• crevices
• rifts
• clefts
• splits
• chinks
• gaps
• crannies
• fractures
• checks
• crevasses
• ruptures
• slits
• openings
• breaches
• gashes
• hairlines
• crazes
• incisions
• cuts

2

as in blows

a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument

a disciplinary crack on the hand with a ruler was once common in schoolrooms

Synonyms & Similar Words

• blows
• thumps
• thuds
• punches
• hits
• swipes
• knocks
• slaps
• strokes
• whacks
• smacks
• pokes
• pounds
• licks
• bangs
• spanks
• clips
• claps
• slams
• beats
• hooks
• chops
• socks
• belts
• hacks
• hands
• pelts
• knees
• lashes
• stripes
• raps
• biffs
• whaps
• cuffs
• switches
• welts
• bats
• swats
• thwacks
• slugs
• fillips
• bashes
• whams
• buffets
• kicks
• dabs
• plumps
• boxes
• bops
• busts
• smashes
• clouts
• stingers
• haymakers
• picks
• whops
• lickings
• swings
• douses
• larrups
• beatings
• wallops
• counter-blows
• counter-strokes
• shivers
• counters
• lefts
• counterstrokes
• counterblows
• body blows
• whips
• counterpunches
• sucker punches
• rabbit punches
• rights
• batterings
• roundhouses
• pastings
• crunchers
• uppercuts
• knockdowns
• thrashings
• whippings
• drubbings
• sidewinders
• bastinadoes
• wallopings
• kayos
• right-handers
• bastinades
• KOs
• one-twos
• knockouts

3

as in claps

a loud explosive sound

the tree fell with a sharp crack

Synonyms & Similar Words

• claps
• bangs
• booms
• pops
• blasts
• crashes
• thunderclaps
• slams
• thwacks
• reports
• knocks
• roars
• whacks
• snaps
• taps
• whumps
• smashes
• whomps
• clashes
• thunks
• clangs
• howls
• clanks
• raps
• whams
• outcries
• clamors
• blares
• uproars
• clangors
• tumults
• hullabaloos
• hue and cries
• hubbubs

4

as in attempts

an effort to do or accomplish something

this is my first crack at painting

Synonyms & Similar Words

• attempts
• tries
• goes
• stabs
• bids
• passes
• flings
• shots
• endeavors
• offers
• bashes
• whirls
• whacks
• trials
• essays
• struggles
• assays
• throes
• strivings
• undertakings
• trial and errors

5

as in jokes

something said or done to cause laughter

a whispered crack made the whole back row start laughing

Synonyms & Similar Words

• jokes
• laughs
• giggles
• ribs
• gags
• screams
• wisecracks
• witticisms
• yucks
• quips
• sallies
• one-liners
• drolleries
• funnies
• yocks
• japes
• pranks
• waggeries
• yaks
• jests
• joshes
• yuks
• pleasantries
• boffos
• parodies
• riots
• boffs
• panics
• nifties
• practical jokes
• comedies
• tricks
• buffooneries
• humors
• antics
• capers
• riffs
• mocks
• banters
• boffolas
• railleries
• burlesques
• knee-slappers
• lampoons
• caricatures
• monkeyshines
• repartees
• mockeries
• leg-pulls
• wits
• thigh-slappers
• wordplays
• put-ons
• persiflages

6

as in eccentrics

a person of odd or whimsical habits

that conspiracy theorist has been labeled a crack by the ballistics experts

Synonyms & Similar Words

• eccentrics
• nuts
• flakes
• characters
• originals
• cranks
• pieces of work
• crackpots
• mavericks
• screwballs
• kooks
• oddballs
• weirdos
• rarities
• head cases
• oddities
• bohemians
• freaks
• codgers
• quizzes
• zanies
• fruitcakes
• nutters
• odd ducks
• nutcases
• crackbrains
• nonconformists
• coots
• geezers
• quixotes
• curios
• fantasts
• fantasticoes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sheep
• followers
• conformists
• conformers

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of cracks

Verb

Apple will be there waiting, sitting on a mountain of cash, ready to partner with (or outright acquire) whichever operation cracks the code. —Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025

Every time Kreider cracks a joke, Yurov laughs hard. —Michael Russo, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025

For example, Harvard barely cracks the top 30. —Bruno V. Manno, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025

Video of Bo Nix‘s rookie season plays on an endless loop — until, at last, someone cracks the code. —Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 30 Aug. 2025

The younger woman cracks her neck side to side. —Weike Wang, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025

If the suspension knuckle cracks the suspension arm may detach. —James Powel, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2025

What struck me as beautiful about the scene on the staircase when Peggy breaks down with her mother in the finale is that Peggy finally cracks under the weight of carrying this grief and walking such a tightrope. —Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2025

That’s not to say this story of a woman whose flawless façade barely cracks even as her insides crumble doesn’t fray your nerves. —Jon Frosch, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Noun

Several businesses were damaged, roads were left with deep cracks, and an old Roman Catholic church in nearby Daanbantayan town was also damaged, Cañete said. —Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025

For those that slip through the cracks and appear in your inbox, reporting them is easy. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2025

The Philippine Red Cross said there were reports at schools in Cebu of debris, cracks in buildings and a temporary power failure. —Brandon Miller, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025

Over the first three weeks, the 49ers somehow maintained their balance as cracks and fissures formed all over their lineup. —Matt Barrows, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025

The great quarterbacks are janitors for organizational messes, smoothing over the cracks and making a bad team look competent for three hours. —Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 29 Sep. 2025

And now, there are reports that there could already be cracks in the recent peace that father and son have found. —Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 29 Sep. 2025

The cracks started right at the top. —Jim Cramer, CNBC, 28 Sep. 2025

Sax said people still make cracks to him about this. —Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 28 Sep. 2025