cranny
Americannoun
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a small, narrow opening in a wall, rock, etc.; chink; crevice; fissure.
They searched every nook and cranny for the missing ring.
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a small out-of-the-way place or obscure corner; nook.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of cranny
1400–50; late Middle English crany, perhaps < Middle French crené, past participle of crener to notch, groove; see crenel
Explanation
A cranny is a little crack or narrow opening, Many cats like to settle themselves into any cranny they can find. A rock wall is full of crannies where you can fit your fingers and feet as you climb up, while a tree's crackly bark provides crannies for insects to hide in. It's pretty common to see the word cranny accompanied by nook: "When you vacuum the living room, don't forget about all the little nooks and crannies!" Cranny is a diminutive of the Old French cran, "notch or fissure," from crener, "to split."
Vocabulary lists containing cranny
A Midsummer Night's Dream
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The BFG
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Before We Were Free
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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.
Passengers were shimmying in practically every nook and cranny in the auditorium.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
It takes time for higher energy prices to work their way into every nook and cranny of the economy.
From MarketWatch • May 16, 2026
Surveillance software sprouted in every cranny of the ballpark, first in service of providing more data for teams and front offices to pore over, then as fuel for ever more esoteric betting propositions.
From Salon • Apr. 13, 2026
From obsessive city-wide tagging in every impossible nook and cranny and world famous Banksy pieces to bold and colourful community murals, Bristol's street art has since become world renowned.
From BBC • Oct. 22, 2025
Like all the lessons at the Institute, this one was a barrage of details—pages and pages worth—but the gist was that sickness, like a hungry predator, lurked in every nook and cranny.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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.
