crook
noun
a bent or curved implement, piece, appendage, etc.; hook.
crook
1 American
[krook]
/ krʊk /
noun
-
crooks
plural
-
a bent or curved implement, piece, appendage, etc.; hook.
-
the hooked part of anything.
-
an instrument or implement having a bent or curved part, as a shepherd's staff hooked at one end or the crosier of a bishop or abbot.
-
a dishonest person, especially a sharper, swindler, or thief.
-
a bend, turn, or curve.
a crook in the road.
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the act of crooking or bending.
-
a pothook.
-
Also called shank. a device on some musical wind instruments for changing the pitch, consisting of a piece of tubing inserted into the main tube.
verb (used with object)
-
crooks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
crooked,
past participle, past
-
crooking
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
crooks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
crooked,
past participle, past
-
crooking
present participle
crook
2
American
[krook]
/ krʊk /
Crook
3
American
[krook]
/ krʊk /
noun
crook
British
/ krʊk /
noun
-
a curved or hooked thing
-
a staff with a hooked end, such as a bishop's crosier or shepherd's staff
-
a turn or curve; bend
-
informal a dishonest person, esp a swindler or thief
-
the act or an instance of crooking or bending
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Also called: shank. a piece of tubing added to a brass instrument in order to obtain a lower harmonic series
verb
adjective
-
informal
-
ill
-
of poor quality
-
unpleasant; bad
-
-
informal to lose one's temper
-
informal to rebuke or upbraid
crook
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
crooksimple
-
crookssimple
-
have crookedperfect
-
has crookedperfect
-
am crookingprogressive
-
are crookingprogressive
-
is crookingprogressive
-
have been crookingperfect progressive
-
has been crookingperfect progressive
Past
-
crookedsimple
-
had crookedperfect
-
was crookingprogressive
-
were crookingprogressive
-
had been crookingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of crook1
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English crok, crouk, from Old Norse krōkr “hook, barb, corner”
Origin of crook2
First recorded in 1875–80; perhaps alteration of cronk
Explanation
A crook is long staff that’s bent at one end, like something you might see a shepherd carrying. A crook can also be a criminal — a person who’s dishonest, or bent, just like the staff. The noun crook entered English in the 13th century as a way to describe the long tool with a hook at one end. It later took on the meaning of “petty criminal.” You can use crook as an informal way to describe someone who is dishonest. A crook is typically involved in minor or nonviolent crimes; you wouldn’t use the word to describe a murderer, for example. A con man or someone committing fraud could be called a crook.
Vocabulary lists containing crook
"The Tragedy of Hamlet," Vocabulary from Act 3
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Selection Vocabulary 2, Unit 3
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American Street
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
To my knowledge, Carney’s creator is neither crook nor salesman, but Whitehead can lay claim to those other two mantles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
"I think until the end of her days, she was convinced that I must have been a crook," he laughed.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026
It was late, and the store was out of disposable bags, so I tucked some of the loot into my dance bag and cradled the rest in the crook of my arm.
From Salon ● Jan. 1, 2026
Hemlock is a small town located in the crook of the Michigan mitten, between the thumb and the fingers.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2025
It nestled its beak into the crook of his elbow.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
“If we got back super late from an away game and you got school the next day, it helps you get up and get going,” said Lampasas senior and football player Brayden Crook, 17.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Shevels, who the court heard was known in the town of Crook to be a nuisance when drunk, annoyed the Greensmith family by sitting nearby and trying to talk to them.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Crook urged chip shops to list the species on their menus, adding: "As an industry, we've got to have the trust of the general public."
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
Andrew Crook, who owns a fish and chip shop in Lancashire, northwestern England, told AFP the number of customers can more than double on Good Fridays.
From Barron's ● Apr. 5, 2026
William Crook stands guard outside Lincoln’s office door.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
In the final entry on her blog, posted barely half an hour before she was killed, Caruana Galizia wrote: "There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate".
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
“I mean, they need to be able to do that. But they just, you know, they need to pay more attention to the crooks than people trying to make an honest living.”
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said the waste dumping was "orchestrated by a group of shameless crooks".
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026
Vigilante uses Japanese musical instrument to deter crooks.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 12, 2026
Then they went hunting for crooks and fools.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
In 2019, the IRS told Murrin she owed unpaid tax, penalties and interest for income-tax returns the crooked accountant filed from 1993 to 1999.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
From there, Cicket’s life is a crooked line.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
"They're crooked," he continued, "just like you're crooked."
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
I often stood crooked or perched on things to avoid sticking out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
A gate in the fence hung open on crooked hinges.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
Short as trees go, it has a hunkered-down look, its branches starting low to the ground and crooking and knotting as they rise.
From New York Times ● May 10, 2021
He was having an almost violently good time, it appeared, kissing women on the cheek, crooking his arm around his friends’ necks.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 24, 2019
A trio of elderly gentlemen, seated outside at a cafe, urge us on, crooking thumbs in the uphill direction.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 10, 2019
So police officers, crooking a single finger, have ordered scores of drivers to the curb for breaking the law and issued them a fine for $130.
From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2012
The conjurer-man’s finger commenced crooking and bending in a way that got more screams and confusion to rise up from the crowd.
From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
