crane
any large wading bird of the family Gruidae, characterized by long legs, bill, and neck and an elevated hind toe.
(not used scientifically) any of various similar birds of other families, as the great blue heron.
Machinery. a device for lifting and moving heavy weights in suspension.
any of various similar devices, as a horizontally swinging arm by a fireplace, used for suspending pots over the fire.
Movies, Television. a vehicle having a long boom on which a camera can be mounted for taking shots from high angles.
Nautical. any of a number of supports for a boat or spare spar on the deck or at the side of a vessel.
Crane, Astronomy. the constellation Grus.
to hoist, lower, or move by or as by a crane.
to stretch (the neck) as a crane does.
to stretch out one's neck, especially to see better.
to hesitate at danger, difficulty, etc.
Origin of crane
1Other definitions for Crane (2 of 2)
(Harold) Hart, 1899–1932, U.S. poet.
Stephen, 1871–1900, U.S. novelist, poet, and short-story writer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use crane in a sentence
That day was really long and really hot and there were cranes and big huge movie shots.
Exit Interview: The Walking Dead's Beth Tells All | Melissa Leon | December 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAt the central port, cranes dangle in disuse and buildings open to the sky.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis | Nina Strochlic | November 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSadly, though she folded more than 1,000 cranes, she died of leukemia on October 25, 1955.
Truman’s Grandson & Japan’s A-Bomb Survivors: A Story of Reconciliation | Clifton Truman Daniel | August 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn 1999, when my older son, Wesley, was in fifth grade, he brought home a copy of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes.
Truman’s Grandson & Japan’s A-Bomb Survivors: A Story of Reconciliation | Clifton Truman Daniel | August 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTShe followed a Japanese tradition that says if you fold 1,000 origami paper cranes, you are granted a wish.
Truman’s Grandson & Japan’s A-Bomb Survivors: A Story of Reconciliation | Clifton Truman Daniel | August 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The big black pots swinging from the cranes had bubbled and gurgled and shaken and sent out puffs of appetizing steam.St.
The First Christmas Tree | Henry Van DykeBy the banks of lakes and rivers are to be seen thousands of cranes, pelicans and flamingoes.
When she looked west the land was empty to the horizon, and a flock of big sand-hill cranes planed down the wind.
The Girl From Keller's | Harold BindlossNow, cranes are supposed to live one thousand years and tortoises ten thousand years.
A Fantasy of Far Japan | Baron Kencho SuyematsuThe lovely gabble of the cranes and the wild swans comes back to me whenever I think of the place.
Thirty Years in Australia | Ada Cambridge
British Dictionary definitions for crane (1 of 2)
/ (kreɪn) /
any large long-necked long-legged wading bird of the family Gruidae, inhabiting marshes and plains in most parts of the world except South America, New Zealand, and Indonesia: order Gruiformes: See also demoiselle (def. 1), whooping crane
(not in ornithological use) any similar bird, such as a heron
a device for lifting and moving heavy objects, typically consisting of a moving boom, beam, or gantry from which lifting gear is suspended: See also gantry
films a large trolley carrying a boom, on the end of which is mounted a camera
(tr) to lift or move (an object) by or as if by a crane
to stretch out (esp the neck), as to see over other people's heads
(intr) (of a horse) to pull up short before a jump
Origin of crane
1British Dictionary definitions for Crane (2 of 2)
/ (kreɪn) /
(Harold) Hart. 1899–1932, US poet; author of The Bridge (1930)
Stephen. 1871–1900, US novelist and short-story writer, noted particularly for his novel The Red Badge of Courage (1895)
Walter. 1845–1915, British painter, illustrator of children's books, and designer of textiles and wallpaper
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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