crack-up
1 of 2noun
ˈkrak-ˌəp 
1
: crash, wreck
an automobile crack-up
2
a
: a mental collapse : nervous breakdown
his wife's death brought on his crack-up
b
: collapse, breakdown
crack up
2 of 2verb
cracked up; cracking up; cracks up
transitive verb
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
intransitive verb
1
: to damage or destroy a vehicle (as by losing control)
cracked up on a curve
2
: to laugh out loud
Synonyms
Noun
- breakdown
- nervous breakdown
- tailspin
Verb
- acclaim
- accredit
- applaud
- cheer
- hail
- laud
- praise
- salute
- tout
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
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
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 9 July 2022 Tyler Anderson would also crack up at Horton’s meticulous method, back when the Dodgers pitcher was on the coach’s first several teams at Oregon from 2009 to 2011. Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 17 July 2022 Kieran Culkin made Succession co-star Jeremy Strong crack up on the Bemelmans Bar steps. Elise Taylor, Vogue, 3 May 2022 So there’s nothing self-conscious about it, just a couple of bored friends making a racket to crack up each other and piss off the world. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2022 Even with a quick resolution, however, much of the crack up is unlikely to be reversed. Josh Zumbrun, WSJ, 10 Mar. 2022 With that, the couple both crack up in a way that only two people who are already in on the joke would. Seth Combs Writer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Feb. 2022 Watching Snoop rolling a joint and attempting not to crack up during a Haddish tale — and at least once exploding in laughter mid-inhale — is tremendous entertainment. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Feb. 2022 The houses were so close together that the families would tape happy birthday messages for each other in their facing kitchen windows, and Bill Cullen would crack up the Soloves’ kids by dancing most mornings in their backyard. Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2022 See More
Verb
And those are stories often delivered haltingly, because the resemblance between fact and fiction was so absurdly dead-on that the storyteller can’t help but crack up in the middle of it. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 9 July 2022 Tyler Anderson would also crack up at Horton’s meticulous method, back when the Dodgers pitcher was on the coach’s first several teams at Oregon from 2009 to 2011. Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 17 July 2022 Kieran Culkin made Succession co-star Jeremy Strong crack up on the Bemelmans Bar steps. Elise Taylor, Vogue, 3 May 2022 So there’s nothing self-conscious about it, just a couple of bored friends making a racket to crack up each other and piss off the world. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2022 Even with a quick resolution, however, much of the crack up is unlikely to be reversed. Josh Zumbrun, WSJ, 10 Mar. 2022 With that, the couple both crack up in a way that only two people who are already in on the joke would. Seth Combs Writer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Feb. 2022 Watching Snoop rolling a joint and attempting not to crack up during a Haddish tale — and at least once exploding in laughter mid-inhale — is tremendous entertainment. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Feb. 2022 The houses were so close together that the families would tape happy birthday messages for each other in their facing kitchen windows, and Bill Cullen would crack up the Soloves’ kids by dancing most mornings in their backyard. Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
Noun
circa 1926, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1829, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Kids Definition
crack-up
noun
ˈkrak-ˌəp
1
: breakdown sense 2
2
: crash entry 2 sense 3, wreck
My car received minor damage in the crack-up.
cracking up
verb
1
as in applauding
to declare enthusiastic approval of that sports car isn't all it's cracked up to be Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- applauding
- praising
- hailing
- doffing one's cap to
- acclaiming
- doffing one's hat to
- commending
- cheering
- saluting
- lauding
- touting
- accrediting
- rising (to)
- rooting (for)
- endorsing
- clapping
- approving
- bravoing
- recommending
- celebrating
- favoring
- ballyhooing
- belauding
- singing
- supporting
- extolling
- eulogizing
- flattering
- indorsing
- overpraising
- emblazoning
- magnifying
- adulating
- idolizing
- glorifying
- deifying
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- knocking
- slamming
- panning
- putting down
- disparaging
- blaming
- belittling
- criticizing
- discommending
- censuring
- reprobating
- reprehending
- admonishing
- chiding
- rebuking
- reproaching
- reprimanding
- reproving
- vilifying
- excoriating
- slagging
- castigating
- skewering
- lambasting
- keelhauling
2
as in crying up
to praise or publicize lavishly and often excessively the movie is being cracked up as the blockbuster of the summer Synonyms & Similar Words
- crying up
- blowing up
- advertising
- announcing
- acclaiming
- promoting
- trumpeting
- ballyhooing
- touting
- commending
- tub-thumping
- offering
- applauding
- glorifying
- extolling
- complimenting
- lauding
- laying down
- making out
- eulogizing
- proclaiming
- blaring
- pronouncing
- magnifying
- publicizing
- blazing
- blazoning
- heralding
- claiming
- plugging
- asserting
- declaring
- averring
- boosting
- advancing
3
as in laughing
to show mirth with an explosive vocal sound try not to crack up at your own punch lines—it's funnier if you keep a straight face Synonyms & Similar Words
- laughing
- giggling
- screaming
- chuckling
- splitting one's sides
- smiling
- breaking up
- grinning
- roaring
- snickering
- chortling
- tittering
- cackling
- twittering
- hee-hawing
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- crying
- sobbing
- weeping
- howling
- bawling
- blubbering
- whining
- wailing
- whimpering
- bleating
- groaning
- moaning
- sniffling
- yowling
- sighing
- sniveling
- puling
- squalling
- snivelling