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
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
airmail.news, 25 Jan. 2025
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
Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 21 Feb. 2025
The characters’ awkward and absurd interactions were so funny, none of the four actors could help cracking up.
—John Russell, People.com, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crack-up
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Noun
Because even the most powerful companies are just participants in a broader world, and if the rage of those who are sacrificed to feed the bottom line wrecks that broader world, well, then a crack-up is coming.
—airmail.news, 25 Jan. 2025
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
Verb
The scene makes Perkins crack up — Death looks tired and haggard, his job is never done (especially this week), and while the father-son may have escaped this round, their paths will cross in some unknowable way in the future.
—Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 21 Feb. 2025
The characters’ awkward and absurd interactions were so funny, none of the four actors could help cracking up.
—John Russell, People.com, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crack-up
Cite this Entry
“Crack-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crack-up. Accessed 26 Feb. 2025.
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