: very impressive or effective : great
1
: a process in which relatively heavy hydrocarbons are broken up by heat into lighter products (such as gasoline)
2
US politics
: a form of gerrymandering in which election districts are drawn in such a way that voters likely to support the opposing party are spread among multiple districts to dilute the power of their votes
Using the classic gerrymandering technique, cracking, they divided Salt Lake City (a Democrat stronghold) among three districts to drown out its Democratic voters with neighboring heavily Republican turf.—
Justin F. Thulin
compare packing sense 3
Justin F. ThulinSynonyms
Adjective
- A-OK
- A1
- awesome
- bang-up
- banner
- beautiful
- blue-chip
- blue-ribbon
- boffo
- bonny [chiefly British]
- bonnie
- boss [slang]
- brag
- brave
- bully
- bumper
- capital
- choice
- classic
- cool [slang]
- corking
- crackerjack
- dandy
- divine
- dope [slang]
- down [slang]
- dynamite
- excellent
- fab
- fabulous
- famous
- fantabulous [slang]
- fantastic
- fine
- first-class
- first-rate
- first-string
- five-star
- four-star
- frontline
- gangbusters
- gangbuster
- gilt-edged
- gilt-edge
- gone [slang]
- grand
- great
- groovy
- heavenly
- high-class
- hot
- hype [slang]
- immense
- jim-dandy
- keen
- lovely
- marvelous
- marvellous
- mean
- neat
- nifty
- noble
- number one
- No. 1
- numero uno
- out-of-sight [slang]
- par excellence
- peachy
- peachy keen
- phat [slang]
- prime
- primo [slang]
- prize
- prizewinning
- quality
- radical [slang]
- righteous [slang]
- sensational
- slick
- splendid
- stellar
- sterling
- superb
- superior
- superlative
- supernal
- swell
- terrific
- tip-top
- top
- top-notch
- top-of-the-line
- top-shelf
- topflight
- topping [chiefly British]
- unsurpassed
- wizard [chiefly British]
- wonderful
Adverb
- achingly
- almighty
- archly
- awful
- awfully
- badly
- beastly
- blisteringly
- bone
- colossally
- corking
- damn
- damned
- dang
- deadly
- desperately
- eminently
- enormously
- especially
- ever
- exceedingly
- exceeding
- extra
- extremely
- fabulously
- fantastically
- far
- fiercely
- filthy
- frightfully
- full
- greatly
- heavily
- highly
- hugely
- immensely
- incredibly
- intensely
- jolly
- majorly
- mightily
- mighty
- monstrous [chiefly dialect]
- mortally
- most
- much
- particularly
- passing
- rattling
- real
- really
- right
- roaring
- roaringly
- seriously
- severely
- so
- sore
- sorely
- spanking
- specially
- stinking
- such
- super
- supremely
- surpassingly
- terribly
- that
- thumping
- too
- unco
- uncommonly
- vastly
- very
- vitally
- way
- whacking
- wicked
- wildly
Examples of cracking in a Sentence
Adjective
I think it's a cracking story.
a writer renowned for her cracking tales of mystery and suspense
Adverb
tells a cracking good tale of a search for a lost city
Recent Examples on the WebSI.com, 28 Oct. 2019
This is shaping up to be a cracking game at Old Trafford that United will probably edge.
—SI.com, 6 Aug. 2019
His fortunes finally turned back Wednesday, when van Garderen laid down a cracking time trial at the Tour of California.
—sacbee, 16 May 2018
Adjective
Another uninspired performance coupled with a a heavy defeat may well spell the end for the Basque manager at the Emirates, so this fixture should have plenty of undertones and be a cracking game of football.
—SI.com, 28 Oct. 2019
This is shaping up to be a cracking game at Old Trafford that United will probably edge.
—SI.com, 6 Aug. 2019
His fortunes finally turned back Wednesday, when van Garderen laid down a cracking time trial at the Tour of California.
—sacbee, 16 May 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cracking.' 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 cracking
Cite this Entry
“Cracking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cracking. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
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