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Cave vs Crack - What's the difference?

cave | crack |

As a proper noun cave

is .

As a verb crack is

(senseid)to form cracks.

As a noun crack is

(senseid)a thin and usually jagged space opened in a previously solid material.

As an adjective crack is

highly trained and competent.

cave

English

Etymology 1

(etyl), from (etyl) ).

Noun

(en noun)
  • A large, naturally-occurring cavity formed underground, or in the face of a cliff or a hillside.
  • * , chapter=16
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=The preposterous altruism too!
  • A hole, depression, or gap in earth or rock, whether natural or man-made.
  • * {{quote-book, 1918, Edward Alfred Steiner, Uncle Joe's Lincoln citation
    • , passage=Every boy at one time or another has dug a cave ; I suppose because ages and ages ago his ancestors had to live in caves,
  • A storage cellar, especially for wine or cheese.
  • A place of retreat, such as a man cave.
  • (caving) A naturally-occurring cavity in bedrock which is large enough to be entered by an adult.
  • (nuclear physics) A shielded area where nuclear experiments can be carried out.
  • * {{quote-book, 1986, National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Radiation Alarms and Access Control Systems, page=45 citation
    • , passage=These potential radiation fields or radioactive material levels may be the result of normal operations (ie, radiation in a target cave )
  • (drilling, uncountable) Debris, particularly broken rock, which falls into a drill hole and interferes with drilling.
  • * {{quote-book, 1951, James Deans Cumming, Diamond Drill Handbook, page=134 citation
    • , passage=
  • (mining) A collapse or cave-in.
  • * {{quote-book, 1885, (Angelo Heilprin), Town Geology: The Lesson of the Philadelphia Rocks, page=79 citation
    • , passage=The "breasts" of marble which unite the opposite lateral walls have been left standing in order to prevent a possible cave of the wall on either side.}}
  • The vagina.
  • * {{quote-book, 1976, (Chester Himes), My Life of Absurdity, page=59 citation
    • , passage=Then without a word she lay on her back in the bed, her dark blond pubic hair rising about her dark wet cave like dried brush about a hidden spring.}}
  • A group that breaks from a larger political party or faction on a particular issue.
  • * {{quote-book, 1964, Leon D. Epstein, British Politics in the Suez Crisis, page=125 citation
    • , passage=Without joining the cave , Hyde had abstained both in December 1956 and May 1957.}}
  • (obsolete) Any hollow place, or part; a cavity.
  • * Francis Bacon
    • the cave of the ear
    Synonyms
    *
    Derived terms
    * caveman * cave painting * cavewoman

    Verb

    (cav)
  • To surrender.
    • He caved under pressure.
  • To collapse.
    • First the braces buckled, then the roof began to cave , then we ran.
  • To hollow out or undermine.
    • The levee has been severely caved by the river current.
  • To engage in the recreational exploration of caves; to spelunk.
    • I have caved from Yugoslavia to Kentucky.
    Let's go caving this weekend.
  • (mining) In room-and-pillar mining, to extract a deposit of rock by breaking down a pillar which had been holding it in place.
    • The deposit is caved by knocking out the posts.
  • (mining, obsolete) To work over tailings to dress small pieces of marketable ore.
  • * {{quote-book, 1999, Andy Wood, The Politics of Social Conflict: The Peak Country, 1520-1770, page=319 citation
    • , passage=As an indication of the miners' desperation in these years, the free miners of Wensley lowered themselves to caving for scraps of ore. }}
  • (obsolete) To dwell in a cave.
    • (Shakespeare)
    Derived terms
    * block caving * cave in * caver * caving hammer

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • (British, public school slang) look out!; beware!

    • Anagrams

    * ----

    crack

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) crakken, craken, from (etyl) .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (senseid)To form cracks.
    • It's been so dry, the ground is starting to crack .
  • To break apart under pressure.
    • When I tried to stand on the chair, it cracked .
  • To become debilitated by psychological pressure.
    • Anyone would crack after being hounded like that.
  • To break down or yield, especially under interrogation or torture.
    • When we showed him the pictures of the murder scene, he cracked .
  • To make a cracking sound.
    • The bat cracked with authority and the ball went for six.
  • (of a voice) To change rapidly in register.
    • His voice cracked with emotion.
  • (of a pubescent boy's voice) To alternate between high and low register in the process of eventually lowering.
    • His voice finally cracked when he was fourteen.
  • To make a sharply humorous comment.
    • "I would too, with a face like that," she cracked .
  • To make a crack or cracks in.
    • The ball cracked the window.
  • To break open or crush to small pieces by impact or stress.
    • You'll need a hammer to crack a black walnut.
  • To strike forcefully.
    • She cracked him over the head with her handbag.
  • To open slightly.
    • Could you please crack the window?
  • To cause to yield under interrogation or other pressure. (Figurative )
    • They managed to crack him on the third day.
  • To solve a difficult problem.
    • I've finally cracked it, and of course the answer is obvious in hindsight.
  • To overcome a security system or a component.
    • It took a minute to crack''' the lock, three minutes to '''crack''' the security system, and about twenty minutes to ' crack the safe.
    They finally cracked the code.
  • To cause to make a sharp sound.
    • to crack a whip
  • * 2001 , Doug McGuinn, The Apple Indians
    • Hershell cracked his knuckles, a nervous habit that drove Inez crazy
  • To tell (a joke).
    • The performance was fine until he cracked that dead baby joke.
  • (transitive, chemistry, informal) To break down (a complex molecule), especially with the application of heat: to pyrolyse.
    • Acetone is cracked to ketene and methane at 700°C.
  • (computing) To circumvent software restrictions such as regional coding or time limits.
    • That software licence will expire tomorrow unless we can crack it.
  • (informal) To open a canned beverage, or any packaged drink or food.
    • I'd love to crack open a beer .
  • (obsolete) To brag, boast.
  • *, II.4.1.v:
    • Cardan cracks that he can cure all diseases with water alone, as Hippocrates of old did most infirmities with one medicine.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Ethoipes of their sweet complexion crack .
  • (archaic, colloquial) To be ruined or impaired; to fail.
  • * Dryden
    • The creditof exchequers cracks , when little comes in and much goes out.
    Derived terms
    * bumcrack * crack a crib * crack a fat * crack baby * crack down * cracked * cracker * crack house * crack kills * crack of dawn * crack on * crack seed * crack up * crack whore * fall between the cracks * difficult nut to crack * hard nut to crack * tough nut to crack * what's the crack * wisecrack
    Related terms
    * crazed (exhibiting fine-line cracks)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (senseid)A thin and usually jagged space opened in a previously solid material.
    • A large crack had formed in the roadway.
  • A narrow opening.
    • We managed to squeeze through a crack in the rock wall.
    Open the door a crack .
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=January 25 , author=Phil McNulty , title=Blackpool 2 - 3 Man Utd , work=BBC citation , page= , passage=Dimitar Berbatov found the first cracks in the home side's resilience when he pulled one back from close range and Hernandez himself drew the visitors level with a composed finish three minutes later as Bloomfield Road's earlier jubilation turned to despair. }}
  • A sharply humorous comment; a wisecrack.
    • I didn't appreciate that crack about my hairstyle.
  • A potent, relatively cheap, addictive variety of cocaine; often a rock, usually smoked through a crack-pipe.
  • * (rfdate) :
    • I wouldn't use it, if I was going to use it I can afford real cocaine. Crack is wack.
  • (onomatopoeia) The sharp sound made when solid material breaks.
    • The crack of the falling branch could be heard for miles.
  • (onomatopoeia) Any sharp sound.
    • The crack of the bat hitting the ball.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=June 28 , author=Piers Newbery , title=Wimbledon 2011: Sabine Lisicki beats Marion Bartoli , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=She broke to love in the opening game, only for Bartoli to hit straight back in game two, which was interrupted by a huge crack of thunder that made Lisicki jump and prompted nervous laughter from the 15,000 spectators.}}
  • (informal) An attempt at something.
    • I'd like to take a crack at that game.
  • (vulgar, slang) vagina.
    • I'm so horny even the crack of dawn isn't safe!
  • (vulgar) The space between the buttocks.
    • Pull up your pants! Your crack is showing.
  • (Northern England, Scotland, Ireland) Conviviality; fun; good conversation, chat, gossip, or humourous storytelling; good company.
  • * 2001 , William F. Gray, The Villain , iUniverse, p. 214:
    • Being a native of Northumberland, she was enjoying their banter and Geordie good humour. This was what she needed — good company and good crack .
  • * 2004 , Bill Griffiths, Dictionary of North East Dialect , Northumbria University Press (quoting Dunn, 1950)
    • "his a bit o' good crack — interesting to talk to"
  • * 2006 , Patrick McCabe, Winterwood , Bloomsbury 2007, p. 10:
    • By the time we've got a good drunk on us there'll be more crack in this valley than the night I pissed on the electric fence!
    The crack was good.
    That was good crack .
    He/she is quare good crack .
    The party was great crack .
  • (Northern England, Scotland, Ireland) Business/events/news
    • What's the crack ?
  • (computing) A program or procedure designed to circumvent restrictions or usage limits on software.
    • Has anyone got a crack for DocumentWriter 3.0?
  • (Cumbria, elsewhere throughout the North of the UK) a meaningful chat.
  • (Internet slang) Extremely silly, absurd or off-the-wall ideas or prose.
  • The tone of voice when changed at puberty.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Though now our voices / Have got the mannish crack .
  • (archaic) A mental flaw; a touch of craziness; partial insanity.
    • He has a crack .
  • (archaic) A crazy or crack-brained person.
  • * Addison
    • I can not get the Parliament to listen to me, who look upon me as a crack and a projector.
  • (obsolete) A boast; boasting.
  • * Burton
    • crack and brags
  • * Shakespeare
    • vainglorious cracks
  • (obsolete) Breach of chastity.
    • (Shakespeare)
  • (obsolete) A boy, generally a pert, lively boy.
  • * Shakespeare
    • - 'Tis a noble child.
    - A crack , madam.
  • (slang, dated, UK) A brief time; an instant; a jiffy.
    • I'll be with you in a crack .
    Usage notes
    * In the last few decades the word has been adopted into Gaelic; as there is no "k" in the Irish language the spelling (craic) has been devised.
    Synonyms
    * bum crack (UK), arse crack (UK), ass crack (US) * (cocaine that is heat-altered at the moment of inhalation) crack cocaine

    Etymology 2

    1793 slang, of origin

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Highly trained and competent.
    • Even a crack team of investigators would have trouble solving this case.
  • Excellent, first-rate, superior, top-notch.
    • She's a crack shot with that rifle.
    Derived terms
    * crack train * crack troops
    Related terms
    * cracker-jack English ergative verbs ----