cracker

/ˈkrækər/

/ˈkrækə/

Other forms: crackers

A cracker is a snack. It’s a thin, savory, crisp biscuit, like a saltine. It’s also anything that cracks, like a firecracker or a computer code cracker, or of course, that thin, savory snack that cracks when you break it.

Besides a baked wafer, another kind of cracker is a noisemaker — either a small firework that makes a sharp bang, or the kind that snaps loudly when you pull its colorful paper wrapper apart. Cracker can also be used as an offensive term for a white person, particularly one who's Southern and poor. This meaning comes from the sense of crack as "brag," and a cracker, therefore, as a "bragger."

Definitions of cracker

1. noun

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

   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

   soft pretzel

   a pretzel made of soft bread

   type 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
2. noun

   firework consisting of a small explosive charge and fuse in a heavy paper casing
   synonyms: banger, firecracker

   types:

   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

   type 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.
3. noun

   a party favor consisting of a paper roll (usually containing candy or a small favor) that pops when pulled at both ends
   synonyms: cracker bonbon, snapper

   type of:

   favor, favour, party favor, party favour

   souvenir consisting of a small gift given to a guest at a party
4. noun

   a programmer who cracks (gains unauthorized access to) computers, typically to do malicious things
   “crackers are often mistakenly called hackers”

   type of:

   coder, computer programmer, programmer, software engineer

   a person who designs and writes and tests computer programs
5. noun

   a poor White person in the southern United States
   synonyms: redneck

   type of:

   rustic

   an unsophisticated country person