crook
noun · verb · adjective
Simple meaning
A specialized staff with a semi-circular bend at one end used by shepherds to control their herds.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kruukIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɹʊk
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
A bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure.
A specialized staff with a semi-circular bend (a "hook") at one end used by shepherds to control their herds.
A bending of the knee; a genuflection.
A long staff with one end being hook shaped
A bent or curved part; a curving piece or portion (of anything).
A bishop's standard staff of office.
verb
Bend or cause to bend
transitive
To bend, or form into a hook.
intransitive
To become bent or hooked.
To turn from the path of rectitude; to pervert; to misapply; to twist.
adjective
AustraliaNew Zealandslang
Bad, unsatisfactory, not up to standard.
AustraliaNew Zealandslang
Ill, sick.
AustraliaNew Zealandslang
Annoyed, angry; upset.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure.
Used this way, crook is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Having or marked by bends or angles.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A variety of aster.
A long staff with one end being hook shaped.
In any way necessary.
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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.