crane
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Large long-necked wading bird of marshes and plains in many parts of the world.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kraynIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɹeɪn
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Large long-necked wading bird of marshes and plains in many parts of the world
A mechanical lifting machine or device, often used for lifting heavy loads for industrial or construction purposes.
A minor river in Dorset, England, which becomes the Moors River near Verwood; the name is a back-formation from Cranborne.
A minor river in Greater London, England, which joins the Thames near Twickenham.
An iron arm with horizontal motion, attached to the side or back of a fireplace for supporting kettles etc. over the fire.
United States poet (1899-1932)
verb
ambitransitive
To extend (one's neck).
intransitive
To pull up before a jump.
transitive
To raise or lower with, or as if with, a crane.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Large long-necked wading bird of marshes and plains in many parts of the world
Used this way, crane is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use crane
- “The women craned their necks to see the President drive by.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Related to the part of the skull that encloses the brain.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Long-legged slender flies that resemble large mosquitoes but do not bite.
Rare North American crane having black-and-white plumage and a trumpeting call.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.