What does craze mean?
A craze is a widespread but typically short-lived enthusiasm for a particular activity, product, or idea, often adopted enthusiastically and then abandoned almost as quickly. The word appears constantly in media coverage — 'the latest fitness craze', 'a gaming craze sweeping schools' — where it carries a faintly dismissive tone, implying the fashion is more fashionable than lasting. Craze also works as a verb: it can mean to drive someone mad, though this literary sense has largely given way to the phrase 'drive someone crazy', and in ceramics it refers to the fine web of cracks that can appear in a glazed surface. Derived forms include the adjective 'crazy' and the noun 'craziness'. Etymologically the word reaches back to Middle English, probably via Scandinavian influence. Whether describing hula hoops, cryptocurrency, or crackled pottery, craze captures how quickly collective enthusiasm can flare and fade.
A widespread but short-lived enthusiasm or fashion for something.
"Pogs were a playground craze in the nineties."
To drive someone mad; in ceramics, to develop a fine network of cracks in a glazed surface.
"He feared the isolation would craze her."
Both verbal senses are relatively uncommon today; 'drive someone crazy' and the technical ceramics usage dominate.
Standard plural; used when referring to multiple fads.
"Diet crazes come and go every few years."
The same word that names a passing teenage fad also describes the delicate crackle pattern prized on antique pottery glazes.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of craze
The word traces back to Middle English 'crasen', meaning to break or shatter, which likely came into English through Scandinavian influence; its original literal sense of shattering gave rise figuratively to the mental sense of being 'broken' or driven mad, and later still to the notion of a frenzy of enthusiasm. Related Germanic words share this root idea of breaking or cracking, which survives concretely in the ceramics term for cracked glaze. The adjective 'crazy' developed from the same stem.
Related word forms
How craze is actually used
The noun is common in journalism and everyday speech, often with slightly dismissive overtones suggesting the enthusiasm will not last. The verb sense 'to madden' sounds literary or dated in modern use; 'drive someone crazy' has largely replaced it. The ceramics verb sense is technical.
Easily confused with craze
'Crazy' is an adjective meaning mentally unbalanced or wildly enthusiastic, while 'craze' is primarily the noun denoting the brief enthusiasm itself.