cracker

[ krak-er ]
See synonyms for: crackercrackers on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a thin, crisp biscuit.

  1. Also called crack·er bon·bon [krak-er bon-bon] /ˈkræk ər ˌbɒn bɒn/ . a small paper roll used as a party favor, that usually contains candy, trinkets, etc., and that pops when pulled sharply at one or both ends.

  2. (initial capital letter)Slang: Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive. a native or inhabitant of Georgia or Florida (used as a nickname).

  3. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a white person in the South, especially a poor white living in some rural parts of the southeastern U.S.

  4. braggart; boaster.

  5. a person or thing that cracks.

  6. a chemical reactor used for cracking. : Compare catalytic cracking, fractionator.

adjective
  1. crackers, Informal. wild; crazy: They went crackers over the new styles.

Origin of cracker

1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English craker; see crack, -er1; defs. 4, 5 were perhaps originally in sense “braggart,” applied to frontiersmen of the southern American colonies in the 1760s, though subsequently given other interpretations (cf. corn-cracker); for def. 11 crackers “crazy,” cf. cracked, -ers

usage note For cracker

The term cracker is used as a neutral nickname by inhabitants of Georgia and Florida; it is a positive term of self-reference. But when the nickname is used by outsiders, it is usually with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting by Georgians and Floridians. Cracker is always disparaging and offensive when used to refer to a poor white person in the South; the word in this sense often implies that the person is regarded as ignorant or uneducated. When used by Black people, cracker can refer to a Southern white racist, not necessarily poor or rural. See also Cracker State.

Words Nearby cracker

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

How to use cracker in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cracker

cracker

/ (ˈkrækə) /


noun
  1. a decorated cardboard tube that emits a bang when pulled apart, releasing a toy, a joke, or a paper hat

  2. short for firecracker

  1. a thin crisp biscuit, usually unsweetened

  2. a person or thing that cracks

  3. US another word for poor White offensive

  4. British slang a thing or person of notable qualities or abilities

  5. not worth a cracker Australian and NZ informal worthless; useless

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