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
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2023
Despite their differences on policy, there is little reason to expect a crack-up between the Hungarian and American right in the near future.
—Emily Tamkin, The New Republic, 22 Sep. 2023
Kaitlin Stevens, Peoplemag, 16 June 2024
Heavy is the head that wears the crown Being King of Westeros isn't all it's cracked up to be, apparently.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 14 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for crack-up 
Noun
And all the better to make his crack-up that much more disorienting and unsettling.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2023
Despite their differences on policy, there is little reason to expect a crack-up between the Hungarian and American right in the near future.
—Emily Tamkin, The New Republic, 22 Sep. 2023
Verb
She’s known for cracking up Chavis’ TikTok followers with impressions of her mom and coordinating dances with her, too.
—Kaitlin Stevens, Peoplemag, 16 June 2024
Heavy is the head that wears the crown Being King of Westeros isn't all it's cracked up to be, apparently.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 14 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for crack-up
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crack-up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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 30 Jun. 2024.
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