crack up
To laugh.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“That joke made me crack up.”
“My friend told a story about her cat, and we all cracked up.”
“The comedian's deadpan delivery was so unexpected that even the stern-faced critic in the front row began to crack up.”
The English expression shares a conceptual parallel with the Japanese verb *warau*, meaning to laugh or smile, which is formed as a suffix of *waru*, meaning to crack. The formation suggests a common linguistic metaphor wherein the physical act of laughing is likened to the breakage or splitting of the facial features.
- 01
all it's cracked up to be
As good as claims or reputation would suggest.
- 02
crack a crust
To make a living.
- 03
crack a fat
To get an erection of the penis.
- 04
crack a smile
To smile, especially while attempting not to.
- 05
crack down
To take harsh action (against), as when enforcing a law more stringently than before.
- 06
crack of dawn
The first moment of daylight; the instant at which sunrise begins.
- 07
crack through
To penetrate
- 08
employ a steam engine to crack a nut
To carry out a simple task in an overcomplicated manner.
Last updated August 10, 2026