crackup

[ krak-uhp ]
See synonyms for crackup on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a crash; collision.

  2. a breakdown in health, especially a mental breakdown.

  1. collapse or disintegration: the crackup of an alliance.

Origin of crackup

1
First recorded in 1850–55; noun use of verb phrase crack up

Words Nearby crackup

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use crackup in a sentence

  • His most recent book, The Death of Conservatism, is required reading for any serious student of the current conservative crackup.

    Quit Redefining Conservatism | Christopher Buckley | February 19, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Now Frank tried to delay Lester's inevitable complete crackup by encouraging his interest in their situation.

    The Planet Strappers | Raymond Zinke Gallun
  • Do you think they could have anything to do with Bradshaw's sudden crackup?

    The Unprotected Species | Melvin Sturgis

British Dictionary definitions for crack up

crack up

verb(adverb)
  1. (intr) to break into pieces

  2. (intr) informal to undergo a physical or mental breakdown

  1. (tr) informal to present or report, esp in glowing terms: it's not all it's cracked up to be

  2. informal, mainly US and Canadian to laugh or cause to laugh uproariously or uncontrollably

nouncrackup
  1. informal a physical or mental breakdown

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with crackup

crackup

Suffer an emotional breakdown, become insane, as in He might crack up under the strain. This usage alludes to the result of cracking one's skull; from the early 1600s to crack alone was used in this way. [Slang; early 1900s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.