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crank

adjective · noun · verb

Simple meaning

A twist or turn of the mind.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

krangk
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈkɹæŋk

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. informal

    Strange; weird; odd.

  2. Sick; unwell.

  3. Full of spirit; brisk; lively; sprightly; overconfident; opinionated.

noun

  1. A twist or turn of the mind; caprice; whim

  2. The act of converting power into motion, by turning a crankshaft.

  3. A bent piece of an axle or shaft, or an attached arm perpendicular, or nearly so, to the end of a shaft or wheel, used to impart a rotation to a wheel or other mechanical device; also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion.

  4. A rotating shaft with throws (parts that stick out) and which drives, is driven by (cranked by), or functions as a crank.

  5. informal

    A bad-tempered person

  6. informal

    An ill-tempered or nasty person.

verb

  1. transitive

    To cause to spin via other means, as though turned by a crank.

  2. intransitive

    To act in a cranky manner; to behave unreasonably and irritably, especially through complaining.

  3. intransitive

    To be running at a high level of output or effort.

  4. Rotate with a crank

  5. Fasten with a crank

  6. intransitiveof a crank or similar

    To turn.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

crank shaftcrank armcrank anglecrank casecrank endcrank mechanism

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • crank outverbCompound term

    Produce in a routine or monotonous manner.

  • crank handlenounCompound term

    Crank used to start an engine.

  • crank callnounCompound term

    A hostile telephone call (from a crank).

  • crank upverbCompound term

    Start by cranking.

  • crank letternounCompound term

    A hostile (usually anonymous) letter.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • crankshaftnounRelated term

    A rotating shaft driven by (or driving) a crank.

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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.