get cracking

verb

To get started; to get busy.

“If I'm going to finish my homework by Thursday, I'd better get cracking.”

Similar
bestir oneselfget goingget movingget weavingget startedget rolling
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Meanings

verbget cracking (third-person singular simple present gets cracking, present participle getting cracking, simple past got cracking, past participle (UK) got cracking or (US) gotten cracking)

present singular third person gets cracking · participle present getting cracking · past got cracking · UK participle past got cracking · US participle past gotten cracking

  1. informalTo get started; to get busy.

    If I'm going to finish my homework by Thursday, I'd better get cracking.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbstart to be active

Similar
bestir oneselfget goingget movingget weavingget startedget rolling
Broader
get downbeginget
Also see
get goingget movingget startedsnap it up

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Russian нача́ть де́лать
  • нача́ть де́лать (načátʹ)(idiomatic) To get started; to get busy
Cite this entry
APA

get cracking. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get%20cracking

MLA

“get cracking.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get%20cracking. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “get cracking,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get%20cracking.

Source: get cracking on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.