About The Word Crank

Bay Area Crosswords

Learn about the word Crank to help solve your crossword puzzle. Discover Crank definitions and meaning, origins, synonyms, related terms and more at the free Crossword Dictionary.

Crank

Crank Meaning & Definition
Crank Definition And Meaning

What's The Definition Of Crank?

[n] a hand tool consisting of a rotating shaft with parallel handle
[n] a whimsically eccentric person
[n] a bad-tempered person
[adj] (used of boats) inclined to heel over easily under sail
[v] bend into the shape of a crank
[v] fasten with a crank
[v] rotate with a crank
[v] start by cranking; of engines
[v] travel along a zigzag path; "The river zigzags through the countryside"

Synonyms | Synonyms for Crank: churl | crackpot | crank up | crank up | cranky | crosspatch | fruitcake | grouch | grump | nut | nut case | nutcase | screwball | starter | tender | tippy | unstable | zigzag

Related Terms | Find terms related to Crank: abnormal | aficionado | alien | angle | angle off | anomalous | apex | bar | beam | bear | bee | bellyacher | bend | bifurcate | bifurcation | bight | boom | boutade | brainstorm | branch | branks | buff | bug | cant | cant hook | capriccio | caprice | case | character | chevron | circle | circulate | circumrotate | circumvolute | claw bar | coin | complainant | complainer | conceit | corner | crab | crackbrain | crackpot | crank in | crankish | cranky | craze | crazy idea | croaker | crook | crosspatch | crotchet | crotchety | crow | crowbar | cucking stool | cuckoo | deflection | deviant | deviative | devotee | different | ding-a-ling | divergent | dogleg | dotty | dragon | draw in | draw taut | ducking stool | eccentric | elbow | ell | energumen | enthusiast | erratic | exceptional | fad | fan | fanatic | fanatico | fancy | fantastic notion | fantasy | faultfinder | feist | fey | finger pillory | fire-eater | flake | flaky | flimflam | fool notion | fork | freak | freakish | freakish inspiration | frondeur | funny | furcate | furcation | fury | go around | go round | griper | grizzly bear | grouch | grouser | growler | grumbler | gyrate | gyre | handspike | harebrain | harebrained idea | hermit | hobo | hook | hothead | hotspur | humor | idiocratic | idiosyncratic | infatuate | inflection | iron crow | irregular | jimmy | kicker | kink | kinky | knee | kook | kooky | kvetch | L | lever | limb | lone wolf | loner | lunatic | lunatic fringe | maggot | maggoty | malcontent | marlinespike | maverick | megrim | meshuggenah | monomaniac | murmurer | mutterer | natural | nonconformist | nook | notion | nut | nutty | odd | odd fellow | oddball | oddity | original | outrigger | outsider | pariah | passing fancy | peavey | peculiar | pedal | pillory | pinch bar | pirouette | pivot | point | prize | pry | pull in | queer | queer duck | queer fish | queer specimen | querulous person | quirk | quirky | quoin | rara avis | reactionary | reactionist | rebel | recluse | reel | reel in | revolve | ripping bar | rotate | round | screw | screwball | screwy | singular | solitary | sorehead | sourpuss | spar | spin | stocks | strange | strange duck | swerve | swing | swivel | tackle | Tartar | tauten | tighten | toy | tramp | treadle | treadmill | trebuchet | triangle | triangles | trim | turn | turn a pirouette | turn around | turn round | twist | twisted | type | ugly customer | unconventional | unnatural | vagary | veer | vertex | wacky | wamble | weirdo | wheel | whim | whimsical | whimsy | whim-wham | whiner | whipping post | winch | wind | wind in | windlass | wooden horse | wrecking bar | zag | zealot | zig | zigzag

See Also | bend | circumvolve | crab | crabby person | crank handle | deform | disagreeable person | eccentric | eccentric person | fasten | fire-eater | fix | geek | go | hand tool | hothead | locomote | misanthrope | misanthropist | move | oddball | rotate | secure | start | start up | starting handle | travel | turn | turn | twist | unpleasant person

Crank In Webster's Dictionary

\Crank\ (kr?nk), n. [OE. cranke; akin to E. cringe, cringle, crinkle, and to crank, a., the root meaning, probably, ``to turn, twist.'' See {Cringe}.] 1. (Mach.) A bent portion of an axle, or shaft, or an arm keyed at right angles to the end of a shaft, by which motion is imparted to or received from it; also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion. See {Bell crank}. 2. Any bend, turn, or winding, as of a passage. So many turning cranks these have, so many crooks. --Spenser. 3. A twist or turn in speech; a conceit consisting in a change of the form or meaning of a word. Quips, and cranks, and wanton wiles. --Milton. 4. A twist or turn of the mind; caprice; whim; crotchet; also, a fit of temper or passion. [Prov. Eng.] Violent of temper; subject to sudden cranks. --Carlyle. 5. A person full of crotchets; one given to fantastic or impracticable projects; one whose judgment is perverted in respect to a particular matter. [Colloq.] 6. A sick person; an invalid. [Obs.] Thou art a counterfeit crank, a cheater. --Burton. {Crank axle} (Mach.), a driving axle formed with a crank or cranks, as in some kinds of locomotives. {Crank pin} (Mach.), the cylindrical piece which forms the handle, or to which the connecting rod is attached, at the end of a crank, or between the arms of a double crank. {Crank shaft}, a shaft bent into a crank, or having a crank fastened to it, by which it drives or is driven. {Crank wheel}, a wheel acting as a crank, or having a wrist to which a connecting rod is attached.
\Crank\ (kr?nk), a. [AS. cranc weak; akin to Icel. krangr, D. & G. krank sick, weak (cf. D. krengen to careen). Cf. {Crank}, n.] 1. Sick; infirm. [Prov. Eng.] 2. (Naut.) Liable to careen or be overset, as a ship when she is too narrow, or has not sufficient ballast, or is loaded too high, to carry full sail. 3. Full of spirit; brisk; lively; sprightly; overconfident; opinionated. He who was, a little before, bedrid, . . . was now crank and lusty. --Udall. If you strong electioners did not think you were among the elect, you would not be so crank about it. --Mrs. Stowe.
\Crank\, v. i. [See {Crank}, n.] To run with a winding course; to double; to crook; to wind and turn. See how this river comes me cranking in. --Shak.

More Crossword Puzzle Words

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Cross Word Of The Day

  • Robed ‐ dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination;…
  • Maxillary ‐ of or relating to the…
  • Sea chub ‐ schooling fishes mostly of Indian and western Pacific oceans;…
  • Harmonious ‐ existing together in harmony; "harmonious family relationships"…
  • Hospitably ‐ in a hospitable manner; "she was received hospitably by her new…
  • Supervisory program ‐ a program that controls the execution of…
  • Ouranopithecus ‐ a genus of…
  • Xerophyte ‐ plant adapted for life with a limited supply of water; compare…
  • Negatively ‐ in a negative way; "he was negatively inclined" [adv] in a harmful…
  • Loved ‐ held dear; "his loved companion of…