Definition of: crackle

(krak′əl) v. ·led, ·ling v.i.
1. To crack or snap repeatedly with light, sharp noises.
—v.t.
2. To crush or crumple, as paper with such sounds.
3. To cover, as china, with a delicate network of cracks.
—noun
1. A succession of light, cracking sounds; crepitation.
2. The appearance or condition produced in china, porcelain, glass, and the like, by the cracking of the glaze in all directions so as to form a fine network of cracks: also crack′le·ware′. [Freq. of CRACK, v.]
—crack′ly adjective