crack a smile

verb

To smile, especially while attempting not to.

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Meanings

verbcrack a smile (third-person singular simple present cracks a smile, present participle cracking a smile, simple past and past participle cracked a smile)

present singular third person cracks a smile · participle present cracking a smile · participle past cracked a smile · past cracked a smile

  1. idiomaticTo smile, especially while attempting not to.

    I, I tried / To be complacent for a while / It got hard to crack a smile

    2020, Dana Foote, “Wrath”, in Party Favors, performed by Sir Chloe
    1 more example

    Life is a gamble, we scramble for money I might crack a smile, but ain't a damn thing funny

    1995, Mobb Deep featuring Nas and Raekwon, “Eye for a Eye (Your Beef Is Mines)”, in The Infamous
  2. idiomaticTo begin to smile.
Cite this entry
APA

crack a smile. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crack%20a%20smile

MLA

“crack a smile.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crack%20a%20smile. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crack a smile,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crack%20a%20smile.

Source: crack a smile on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.