CRACKING

Pronunciation (US):

• CRACKING (noun)
  The noun CRACKING has 3 senses:

1. a sudden sharp noise
2. the act of cracking something
3. the process whereby heavy molecules of naphtha or petroleum are broken down into hydrocarbons of lower molecular weight (especially in the oil-refining process)

  Familiarity information: CRACKING used as a noun is uncommon.

• CRACKING (adjective)
  The adjective CRACKING has 1 sense:

1. very good

  Familiarity information: CRACKING used as an adjective is very rare.

• CRACKING (noun)

Meaning:

A sudden sharp noise

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

cracking; crack; snap

Context examples:

the crack of a whip / he heard the cracking of the ice / he can hear the snap of a twig

Hypernyms ("cracking" is a kind of...):

noise (sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound))

Meaning:

The act of cracking something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

cracking; fracture; crack

Hypernyms ("cracking" is a kind of...):

break; breakage; breaking (the act of breaking something)

Meaning:

The process whereby heavy molecules of naphtha or petroleum are broken down into hydrocarbons of lower molecular weight (especially in the oil-refining process)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("cracking" is a kind of...):

chemical action; chemical change; chemical process ((chemistry) any process determined by the atomic and molecular composition and structure of the substances involved)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cracking"):

hydrocracking (the process whereby hydrocarbon molecules of petroleum are broken down into kerosene and gasolene by the addition of hydrogen under high pressure in the presence of a catalyst)

• CRACKING (adjective)

Meaning:

Very good

Synonyms:

smashing; slap-up; peachy; not bad; nifty; groovy; dandy; cracking; corking; bully; bang-up; swell; keen; great; neat

Context examples:

he did a bully job / a neat sports car / had a great time at the party / you look simply smashing

Similar:

good (having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified)

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)