What does cracked mean?
Cracked describes something that has developed a fracture — a line or fissure running through its surface — without being completely broken apart. A cracked window, mug, or phone screen can still function, but its damage is visible and often irreversible. The word also applies to skin and lips that have become dry and split through exposure to cold weather or dehydration, giving us familiar phrases like "cracked lips." Informally, calling a person "cracked" means they are eccentric or mildly insane, a usage that dates back several centuries and survives in the related term "crackpot." More recently, the verb "to crack" has taken on the positive sense of solving a difficult puzzle, as in "cracking the code," making the word unusually versatile. Whether describing physical damage, weathered skin, or an unbalanced mind, "cracked" conveys the image of something sound that has given way under pressure.
Having one or more fractures or splits in its surface without being completely broken.
"He replaced the cracked windscreen before the road trip."
Past form of "crack": broke or caused to break without separating into pieces, or solved a difficult problem.
"The detective finally cracked the case."
The informal sense of "cracked" — meaning slightly mad — is what gave us the word "crackpot."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cracked
Cracked is the past participle of "crack," which derives from the Old English verb "cracian," meaning to make a sharp sudden noise. The word is Germanic in origin, with cognates in other Germanic languages such as Middle Dutch "cracken." Its earliest sense was auditory — the sharp report of breaking wood or ice — and the sense of splitting or fracturing developed naturally from the sounds things make as they break. The frequentative form "crackle" preserves this onomatopoeic root, and the informal sense of mental derangement arose by metaphor, comparing a damaged mind to a damaged object.
Related word forms
How cracked is actually used
As an adjective describing objects, "cracked" is neutral register and common in both everyday speech and technical contexts. Applied to people, it is informal and mildly derogatory, though often jocular. The figurative sense of having "cracked" a problem (solved it) belongs to the verb rather than this adjectival form.
Easily confused with cracked
"Crazed" describes fine, web-like surface cracks (as in glaze) or wild, frantic behavior, while "cracked" refers to a visible fracture or split in an object — or, informally, someone mildly insane.