crackling

noun

crack·​ling

plural cracklings

1

ˈkra-k(ə-)liŋ  : a series of small sharp cracking noises

the crackling of frozen snow as we walk

2

\ ˈkra-​klən , -​kliŋ \

a

: the crisp residue left after the rendering of lard from pig fat or the frying or roasting of pig skin

Want to know how to get perfect crisp crackling on roast pork?

—BBC Good Food (online)

… for me fat is a largely a textural pleasure, … and pork crackling is surely the supreme example of this: a blistered top, as dry and crunchy as an autumn leaf, hiding a layer of yielding, creamy fat beneath.

—Felicity Cloake

also : a piece of this residue

We feasted on … fresh hog cracklings from a road-side trailer north of Houston …

—Peter Richmond

b

: food or a piece of food that resembles crackling

duck cracklings

The great Simon Hopkinson, author of Roast Chicken and Other Stories, gave me—appropriately enough—a bag of chicken crackling as a present, and I pressed him for the recipe.

—Nigella Lawson

Examples of crackling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

No fireplace, no problem—Diptyque’s Feu de Boi is the perfect blend of smokey and woody that really smells as if there's a fire crackling in your living room (minus the extra work). —Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 1 Nov. 2024

Apple occasionally launches these types of service programs to offer repairs for its products, like one to fix receivers on iPhone 12 or 12 Pro phones and one to fix AirPods Pro that made crackling or static sounds. —Jay Peters, The Verge, 1 Nov. 2024

Symptoms usually start with a fever and stuffy nose, followed by chest pulling in during breathing (retractions), cough, crackling sounds in the lungs (rales), and fast breathing (tachypnea).7 Pneumonia is common in older adults and children. —Brandi Jones, Msn-Ed, Health, 31 Oct. 2024

Like many Chilean musicians of your generation, your songs include plenty of folk references —the sharp crackling of wood, the purity of stringed instruments… Our tradition is anchored on the charango, cuatro and arpa paraguaya. —Ernesto Lechner, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

crackling

noun

crack·​ling

1

ˈkrak-(ə-)liŋ

: a series of small sharp crackling sounds

2

ˈkrak-lən,

ˈkrak-liŋ

: the crisp remainder left after the fat has been separated from the meat or skin (as of pork)

—usually used in plural