"wisecrack" meaning in English

See wisecrack in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈwaɪzˌkɹæk/ Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav Forms: wisecracks [plural]
Etymology: From wise + crack. Etymology templates: {{compound|en|wise|crack}} wise + crack Head templates: {{en-noun}} wisecrack (plural wisecracks)
  1. A witty or sarcastic comment or quip.
    Sense id: en-wisecrack-en-noun-EZzzOF86

Verb

IPA: /ˈwaɪzˌkɹæk/ Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav Forms: wisecracks [present, singular, third-person], wisecracking [participle, present], wisecracked [participle, past], wisecracked [past]
Etymology: From wise + crack. Etymology templates: {{compound|en|wise|crack}} wise + crack Head templates: {{en-verb}} wisecrack (third-person singular simple present wisecracks, present participle wisecracking, simple past and past participle wisecracked)
  1. (intransitive, sometimes transitive) To make a sarcastic, flippant, or sardonic comment. Tags: intransitive, sometimes, transitive Synonyms: crack wise Related terms: wiseacre, wiseass, wisecracker, wiseguy (english: agents who wisecrack), know-it-all
    Sense id: en-wisecrack-en-verb-9JyiLpHf Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 16 84 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 15 85 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 8 92

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "wise",
        "3": "crack"
      },
      "expansion": "wise + crack",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From wise + crack.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "wisecracks",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "wisecrack (plural wisecracks)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Near-synonyms: see Thesaurus:joke"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1904, Chuck Connors, Bowery life:",
          "text": "Cut it out, Sis, an' lissen ter er wise crack. Will yer be nice if I pay yer fine?",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A witty or sarcastic comment or quip."
      ],
      "id": "en-wisecrack-en-noun-EZzzOF86",
      "links": [
        [
          "witty",
          "witty"
        ],
        [
          "sarcastic",
          "sarcastic"
        ],
        [
          "quip",
          "quip"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈwaɪzˌkɹæk/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f3/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f3/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "wisecrack"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "wise",
        "3": "crack"
      },
      "expansion": "wise + crack",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From wise + crack.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "wisecracks",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wisecracking",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wisecracked",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wisecracked",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "wisecrack (third-person singular simple present wisecracks, present participle wisecracking, simple past and past participle wisecracked)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "16 84",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "15 85",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "8 92",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To make a sarcastic, flippant, or sardonic comment."
      ],
      "id": "en-wisecrack-en-verb-9JyiLpHf",
      "links": [
        [
          "sarcastic",
          "sarcastic"
        ],
        [
          "flippant",
          "flippant"
        ],
        [
          "sardonic",
          "sardonic"
        ],
        [
          "comment",
          "comment"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, sometimes transitive) To make a sarcastic, flippant, or sardonic comment."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "wiseacre"
        },
        {
          "word": "wiseass"
        },
        {
          "word": "wisecracker"
        },
        {
          "english": "agents who wisecrack",
          "word": "wiseguy"
        },
        {
          "word": "know-it-all"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "crack wise"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "sometimes",
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈwaɪzˌkɹæk/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f3/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f3/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "wisecrack"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English adjective-noun compound nouns",
    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "wise",
        "3": "crack"
      },
      "expansion": "wise + crack",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From wise + crack.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "wisecracks",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "wisecrack (plural wisecracks)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Near-synonyms: see Thesaurus:joke"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1904, Chuck Connors, Bowery life:",
          "text": "Cut it out, Sis, an' lissen ter er wise crack. Will yer be nice if I pay yer fine?",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A witty or sarcastic comment or quip."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "witty",
          "witty"
        ],
        [
          "sarcastic",
          "sarcastic"
        ],
        [
          "quip",
          "quip"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈwaɪzˌkɹæk/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f3/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f3/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "wisecrack"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English adjective-noun compound nouns",
    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "wise",
        "3": "crack"
      },
      "expansion": "wise + crack",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From wise + crack.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "wisecracks",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wisecracking",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wisecracked",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wisecracked",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "wisecrack (third-person singular simple present wisecracks, present participle wisecracking, simple past and past participle wisecracked)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "wiseacre"
    },
    {
      "word": "wiseass"
    },
    {
      "word": "wisecracker"
    },
    {
      "english": "agents who wisecrack",
      "word": "wiseguy"
    },
    {
      "word": "know-it-all"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To make a sarcastic, flippant, or sardonic comment."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "sarcastic",
          "sarcastic"
        ],
        [
          "flippant",
          "flippant"
        ],
        [
          "sardonic",
          "sardonic"
        ],
        [
          "comment",
          "comment"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, sometimes transitive) To make a sarcastic, flippant, or sardonic comment."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "crack wise"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "sometimes",
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈwaɪzˌkɹæk/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f3/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f3/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-wisecrack.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "wisecrack"
}

Download raw JSONL data for wisecrack meaning in English (3.4kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-03-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-03-21 using wiktextract (fef8596 and 633533e). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.