'Cracking' definitions:

Definition of 'cracking'

(from WordNet)
adjective
Very good; "he did a bully job"; "a neat sports car"; "had a great time at the party"; "you look simply smashing" [syn: bang-up, bully, corking, cracking, dandy, great, groovy, keen, neat, nifty, not bad(p), peachy, slap-up, swell, smashing]
noun
A sudden sharp noise; "the crack of a whip"; "he heard the cracking of the ice"; "he can hear the snap of a twig" [syn: crack, cracking, snap]
noun
The act of cracking something [syn: fracture, crack, cracking]
noun
The process whereby heavy molecules of naphtha or petroleum are broken down into hydrocarbons of lower molecular weight (especially in the oil-refining process)

Definition of 'Cracking'

From: GCIDE
  • Crack \Crack\ (kr[a^]k), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cracked (kr[a^]kt); p. pr. & vb. n. Cracking.] [OE. cracken, craken, to crack, break, boast, AS. cracian, cearcian, to crack; akin to D. kraken, G. krachen; cf. Skr. garj to rattle, or perh. of imitative origin. Cf. Crake, Cracknel, Creak.] [1913 Webster]
  • 1. To break or burst, with or without entire separation of the parts; as, to crack glass; to crack nuts. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To rend with grief or pain; to affect deeply with sorrow; hence, to disorder; to distract; to craze. [1913 Webster]
  • O, madam, my old heart is cracked. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • He thought none poets till their brains were cracked. --Roscommon. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To cause to sound suddenly and sharply; to snap; as, to crack a whip. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. To utter smartly and sententiously; as, to crack a joke. --B. Jonson. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. To cry up; to extol; -- followed by up. [Low] [1913 Webster]
  • To crack a bottle, to open the bottle and drink its contents.
  • To crack a crib, to commit burglary. [Slang]
  • To crack on, to put on; as, to crack on more sail, or more steam. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'cracking'

From: GCIDE
  • cracking \cracking\ n.
  • 1. the act of cracking something.
  • Syn: fracture, crack. [WordNet 1.5]
  • 2. (Chem.) the process of making lower molecular weight hydrocarbons from heavier hydrocarbons in petroleum, by exposure to heat and catalysts. It is used to convert heavier alkanes into gasoline, or to improve the octane number of an alkane mixture. [PJC]

Definition of 'cracking'

From: GCIDE
  • cracking \cracking\ adj. same as groovy, sense 1. [informal]
  • Syn: bang-up, bully, cool, corking, dandy, great, groovy, keen, neat, nifty, not bad(predicate), peachy, slap-up, swell, smashing. [WordNet 1.5]