crackling
noun
crack·ling
plural cracklings
1
ˈkra-k(ə-)liŋ 
: a series of small sharp cracking noises
: a series of small sharp cracking noises
the crackling of frozen snow as we walk
2
\
ˈkra-klən 
, -kliŋ
\
, -kliŋ
\
a
: the crisp residue left after the rendering of lard from pig fat or the frying or roasting of pig skin
Want to know how to get perfect crisp crackling on roast pork?—
BBC Good Food (online)
BBC Good Food (online)… for me fat is a largely a textural pleasure, … and pork crackling is surely the supreme example of this: a blistered top, as dry and crunchy as an autumn leaf, hiding a layer of yielding, creamy fat beneath.—Felicity Cloake
Felicity Cloake
also
: a piece of this residue
We feasted on … fresh hog cracklings from a road-side trailer north of Houston … —Peter Richmond
Peter Richmond
b
: food or a piece of food that resembles crackling
duck cracklings
The great Simon Hopkinson, author of Roast Chicken and Other Stories, gave me—appropriately enough—a bag of chicken crackling as a present, and I pressed him for the recipe.—Nigella Lawson
Nigella LawsonExamples of crackling in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Fried to order, the piping hot wings deliver moist chicken encased in a crackling exterior that’s sweet and garlicky.
—Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, 9 May 2024
No score; just the sounds of butter sizzling, metal clanging on metal, wood crackling in the fire.
—Jada Yuan, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for crackling 
Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, 9 May 2024
No score; just the sounds of butter sizzling, metal clanging on metal, wood crackling in the fire.
—Jada Yuan, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for crackling
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crackling.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near crackling
Cite this Entry
“Crackling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crackling. Accessed 1 Jun. 2024.
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