CRACK

I. verb Etymology: Middle English crakken, from Old English cracian; akin to Old High German chrahhōn to resound Date: before 12th century intransitive verb to make a very sharp explosive sound , to break, split, or snap apart, fail : as, to lose control or effectiveness under pressure, to fail in tone , to go or travel at good speed, transitive verb 1. to break so that fissures appear on the surface , to break with a sudden sharp sound , to tell especially suddenly or strikingly , to strike with a sharp noise ; rap , 4. a. to open (as a bottle) for drinking, to open (a book) for studying, to puzzle out and expose, solve, or reveal the mystery of , to break into , to open slightly , to break through (as a barrier) so as to gain acceptance or recognition, to show or begin showing (a smile) especially reluctantly or uncharacteristically, 5. to impair seriously or irreparably ; wreck , to destroy the tone of (a voice), disorder , craze , to interrupt sharply or abruptly , to cause to make a sharp noise , 7. a. to subject (hydrocarbons) to ~ing, to produce by ~ing , to break up (chemical compounds) into simpler compounds by means of heat, II. noun Date: 14th century 1. a loud roll or peal , a sudden sharp noise , a sharp witty remark ; quip , 3. a narrow break ; fissure , a narrow opening , 4. a weakness or flaw caused by decay, age, or deficiency ; unsoundness , a broken tone of the voice, ~pot , moment , instant , housebreaking , burglary , a sharp resounding blow , an attempt or opportunity to do something , a potent form of cocaine that is obtained by treating the hydrochloride of cocaine with sodium bicarbonate to create small chips used illicitly for smoking, III. adjective Date: 1793 of superior excellence or ability