Crossword clues for cracking
cracking
- Break partially but keep its integrity
- Break into simpler molecules by means of heat
- Suffer a nervous breakdown
- Break suddenly and abruptly
- Pass through, as through a barrier
- As of tightly stretched ropes or fingers
- Make a very sharp explosive sound
- The process whereby heavy molecules of naphtha or petroleum are broken down into hydrocarbons of lower molecular weight (especially in the oil-refining process)
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
cracking \cracking\ n.
-
the act of cracking something.
Syn: fracture, crack.
(Chem.) the process of making lower molecular weight hydrocarbons from heavier hydrocarbons in petroleum, by exposure to heat and catalysts. It is used to convert heavier alkanes into gasoline, or to improve the octane number of an alkane mixture.
cracking \cracking\ adj. same as groovy, sense 1. [informal]
Syn: bang-up, bully, cool, corking, dandy, great, groovy, keen, neat, nifty, not bad(predicate), peachy, slap-up, swell, smashing.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
"excellent," colloquial from 1830s, from present participle of crack (v.).
Wiktionary
1 great 2 enjoyable. adv. (context British English) very, usually associated with praise. n. 1 (context chemistry English) The thermal decomposition of a substance, especially that of crude petroleum in order to produce petrol / gasoline. 2 The formation of cracks on a surface v
(present participle of crack English)
WordNet
adj. very good; "he did a bully job"; "a neat sports car"; "had a great time at the party"; "you look simply smashing" [syn: bang-up, bully, corking, dandy, great, groovy, keen, neat, nifty, not bad(p), peachy, slap-up, swell, smashing]
n. a sudden sharp noise; "the crack of a whip"; "he heard the cracking of the ice"; "he can hear the snap of a twig" [syn: crack, snap]
the process whereby heavy molecules of naphtha or petroleum are broken down into hydrocarbons of lower molecular weight (especially in the oil-refining process)
Wikipedia
Cracking may refer to:
- Cracking, the formation of a fracture or partial fracture in a solid material
- Performing a sternotomy
- Fluid catalytic cracking, a catalytic process widely used in oil refineries for cracking large hydrocarbon molecules into smaller molecules
- Cracking (chemistry), the decomposition of complex organic molecules into smaller ones
- Cracking joints, the practice of manipulating one's bone joints to make a sharp sound
- Cracking codes, see cryptanalysis
- Whip cracking
- Safe cracking
- Crackin', band featuring Lester Abrams
In computing:
- Password cracking, the process of discovering the plaintext of an encrypted computer password
- Cracking, the defeating of security devices in computer networks
- Software cracking, the defeating of software copy protection
In petroleum geology and chemistry, cracking is the process whereby complex organic molecules such as kerogens or long chain hydrocarbons are broken down into simpler molecules such as light hydrocarbons, by the breaking of carbon-carbon bonds in the precursors. The rate of cracking and the end products are strongly dependent on the temperature and presence of catalysts. Cracking is the breakdown of a large alkane into smaller, more useful alkanes and alkenes. Simply put, hydrocarbon cracking is the process of breaking a long-chain of hydrocarbons into short ones. This process might require high temperatures and high pressure.
More loosely, outside the field of petroleum chemistry, the term "cracking" is used to describe any type of splitting of molecules under the influence of heat, catalysts and solvents, such as in processes of destructive distillation or pyrolysis.
Fluid catalytic cracking produces a high yield of petrol and LPG, while hydrocracking is a major source of jet fuel, Diesel fuel, naphtha, and again yields LPG.
Usage examples of "cracking".
But as they left the beautifully landscaped road that had carried them from the airport to the city and turned off into the urban residential district he saw that the splendor was, unsurprisingly, a fraud of the usual Alvarado kind: the avenues had been paved, all right, but they were reverting to nature again, cracking and upheaving as the swelling roots of the bombacho trees and the candelero palms that had been planted down the central dividers ripped them apart.
Beyond rose the apartment houses where the middle and lower classes lived, those of the poorer characterized by few windows and cracking plaster, and those of the better-off by the wonderful multistoried murals painted by the gypsy artists, and by the brilliant azurine tiles which kept the houses warm in winter and cool in summer.
From the spot where the body lay came a fierce fizzing and cracking sound, which ceased, however, before the fumes had cleared away.
The burn scars on his legs were still stiff and tender, cracking and opening on the slightest pretext to ooze a clearish crud.
Pete needs on top of Celia dying, the deadfall burning, and Jill cracking up.
Once when she relaxed against Diego Masferrer, she yanked her head up, cracking him under the chin.
There we ceded our Kingdom of Ulaid to Aonghas, Regulus of the Western Isles, and received them back as a feoff, so he now is our overlord and, we think, too tough a nut for even the High King to contemplate cracking without losing more teeth than he can easily afford to lose.
Cracking the human firewall is often easy, requires no investment beyond the cost of a phone call, and involves minimal risk.
She tossed it onto the table beside Hickey, cracking one of the white tiles of its surface.
In the centre was a raised pool, empty of water but filled with weeds, and in one corner of the courtyard a young hornbeam had pushed its way through the tiles, cracking them around its bole.
He cleaned and skinned and jointed the hyrax, roasted its meat in the hot ashes, and ate until his stomach hurt, cracking bones for hot marrow and licking the fatty juices from his fingers.
Jaina checked on the progress of the AirStraekers and found them so close now that she could see the underwing emitter fans flashing individual maser beamsand she could hear the wood cracking as mogo trees burst into flame.
Half the postings are about taking down Pac Bell switches or cracking into the White House and the other half are about the caffeine content of the latest soft drinks.
Pimento down and told him what was going on, and Pimento started cracking up.
Kadence nodded, pulled a roll of sugar-free breath-mint life-savers from her purse, popped one in her mouth, and they all sat cracking hard bits of food between their molars.