Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The production of a succession of slight sharp snapping noises.
  • noun The crisp bits that remain after rendering fat from meat or frying or roasting the skin, especially of a pig or a goose.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The making or emitting of small, abrupt, frequently repeated cracks or reports.
  • noun The browned skin of roast pig.
  • noun plural In the United States, the crisp residue of hogs' fat after the lard has been tried out.
  • noun In Great Britain, a kind of cake used for dogs' food, made from the refuse of tallow-melting.
  • noun Three stripes of velvet worn on the sleeve by members of St. John's College, Cambridge, England.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The making of small, sharp cracks or reports, frequently repeated.
  • noun The well-browned, crisp rind of roasted pork.
  • noun Food for dogs, made from the refuse of tallow melting.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun cookery Fat that, after roasting a joint, hardens and crispens.
  • noun The making of small, sharp cracks or reports, frequently repeated.
  • verb Present participle of crackle.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the sharp sound of snapping noises
  • noun the residue that remains after animal fat has been rendered

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Sense 2, Dutch krakeling, from obsolete Dutch kraeckelingh, from Middle Dutch krākelinc, from krāken, to crack; see cracknel.]

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Examples

  • It was a magnificent display of the phenomenon, and I feel certain that my attention was first attracted to it by the crackling sound which appeared to accompany the motion of the pale flames as they streamed across the sky; indeed, _crackling_, is not the word that properly describes the sound I heard, which was precisely that made by the _flickering_ of blazing fire; and as I have often since read and heard discussions upon the question whether the motion of the aurora is or is not accompanied by an audible sound, I can only say that on this occasion it was the sound that first induced me to observe the sheets of white light that were leaping up the sky.

    Records of a Girlhood Fanny Kemble 1851

  • CRISP PORK BELLY, SWEET PEACH SALSA Ask your butcher to score the skin finely for this, as the crackling is essential.

    Tender delights Nigel Slater 2010

  • In my brief testing on one phone call, the recipient reported degradation in calling quality -- "crackling" -- after the bars receded to none.

    Betanews 2010

  • (pork crackling -- and a Spanish word), making every bite a delectable combination of mildly fishy prawn and savory pork flavors, the crunch of the chicharron contrasting nicely with the slippery noodles.

    Filipino Flavors 2008

  • The sounds were described as crackling, and seemed to depend on movements of the arch of the palate.

    Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine 1896

  • The sounds were described as crackling, and seemed to depend on movements of the arch of the palate.

    Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine 1896

  • Boatman never knows what's coming next, even as he checks dispatch calls crackling over his radio - a necessary distraction.

    The Orange County Register - News Headlines : Top Stories 2010

  • Boatman never knows what's coming next, even as he checks dispatch calls crackling over his radio - a necessary distraction.

    The Orange County Register - News Headlines : Top Stories 2010

  • And in the Dante Valentine books there was a whole lot of "crackling" of blood and magic going on as well.

    "Night Shift" by Lilith Saintcrow Paul 2008

  • Each bear-related portion of the book is full of zest and life and a kind of crackling energy.

    Archive 2006-03-01 fusenumber8 2006

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