CRACKER (cracker)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: cracker   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cracker mean? 

• CRACKER (noun)
  The noun CRACKER has 5 senses:

1. a thin crisp wafer made of flour and water with or without leavening and shortening; unsweetened or semisweet

2. a poor White person in the southern United States

3. a programmer who cracks (gains unauthorized access to) computers, typically to do malicious things

4. firework consisting of a small explosive charge and fuse in a heavy paper casing

5. a party favor consisting of a paper roll (usually containing candy or a small favor) that pops when pulled at both ends

  Familiarity information: CRACKER used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CRACKER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A thin crisp wafer made of flour and water with or without leavening and shortening; unsweetened or semisweet

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("cracker" is a kind of...):

bread; breadstuff; staff of life (food made from dough of flour or meal and usually raised with yeast or baking powder and then baked)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cracker"):

saltine (a cracker sprinkled with salt before baking)

soda cracker (unsweetened cracker leavened slightly with soda and cream of tartar)

oyster cracker (a small dry usually round cracker)

water biscuit (a thin flour-and-water biscuit usually made without shortening; often served with cheese)

graham cracker (semisweet whole-wheat cracker)

pretzel (glazed and salted cracker typically in the shape of a loose knot)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A poor White person in the southern United States

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

cracker; redneck

Hypernyms ("cracker" is a kind of...):

rustic (an unsophisticated country person)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A programmer who cracks (gains unauthorized access to) computers, typically to do malicious things

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Context example:

crackers are often mistakenly called hackers

Hypernyms ("cracker" is a kind of...):

coder; computer programmer; programmer; software engineer (a person who designs and writes and tests computer programs)

Derivation:

crack (gain unauthorized access computers with malicious intentions)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Firework consisting of a small explosive charge and fuse in a heavy paper casing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

banger; cracker; firecracker

Hypernyms ("cracker" is a kind of...):

firework; pyrotechnic ((usually plural) a device with an explosive that burns at a low rate and with colored flames; can be used to illuminate areas or send signals etc.)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cracker"):

cannon cracker (a large firecracker)

cherry bomb (a red ball-shaped firecracker with high explosive power)

whizbang; whizzbang (a firecracker that (like the whizbang shell) makes a whizzing sound followed by a loud explosion)

Derivation:

crack (make a very sharp explosive sound)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A party favor consisting of a paper roll (usually containing candy or a small favor) that pops when pulled at both ends

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

cracker; cracker bonbon; snapper

Hypernyms ("cracker" is a kind of...):

favor; favour; party favor; party favour (souvenir consisting of a small gift given to a guest at a party)

Derivation:

crack (make a sharp sound)

 Context examples 

There were crackers in it with the tenderest mottoes that could be got for money.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

He was a young man with a clear, hairless face, a long, thin nose, and rather nut-cracker jaws.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

These are found in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods, and other foods made with or fried in partially hydrogenated oils.

(Dietary Fats, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Trans fatty acids, or trans fats, are commonly found in fried foods, chips, crackers and baked goods.

(Trans Fat Bans Lessen Health Risks, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

I accustomed myself to giving her, as it were quite casually, little scraps of useful information, or sound opinion—and she started from them when I let them off, as if they had been crackers.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)