26984 words

cracker

9 definitions • 12 examples
1
a thin, flat, hard biscuit, especially one eaten with cheese:

Examples:

We were offered cheese and crackers with our drinks.
2
a person or device that cracks (= succeeds in understanding or knowing) something such as a code (= a secret language hiding a message), a password (= a series of words, letters, or numbers you need to get into a computer, etc.) or a combination (= a series of numbers keeping something locked):

Examples:

code cracker The random text generator makes it almost impossible for code crackers to find patterns.
password cracker The password cracker uses a dictionary of over 540 million words in an attempt to obtain the encrypted wireless password.
safe cracker The gang included an expert safe cracker.
3
a person who gets into other people's computer systems without permission in order to do something illegal:

Examples:

They are passionate programmers who modify software with creative code, as opposed to crackers who break into computer systems.
4
a piece of equipment in an oil refinery (= a factory where oil in its natural state is made into petrol, etc.) for cracking (= making chemical changes to) hydrocarbons:

Examples:

catalytic cracker The refinery has a 75,000-barrel-a-day catalytic cracker.
Getting the plant up and running will entail the construction of an ethane cracker.
5
a paper tube with small toys, small pieces of sweet food, etc. inside, that is covered with bright paper and makes a short, sharp sound when both ends are pulled:

Examples:

pull a cracker Who wants to pull a cracker with me?
Christmas cracker A box of Christmas crackers can cost anything from £5 to £50, depending on the quality of the gifts inside.
6
a firework that explodes with a loud noise
7
a person or thing that is very good or has a special exciting quality:

Examples:

She's written five books, and every one is a cracker.
8
an offensive word used to refer to a poor white person living in the southern US
9
a hard, dry, thin piece of baked bread

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