crib

[ krib ]
See synonyms for: cribcribbedcribbing on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a child's bed with enclosed sides.

  2. a stall or pen for cattle.

  1. a rack or manger for fodder, as in a stable or barn.

  2. a bin for storing grain, salt, etc.

  3. Informal.

    • a translation, list of correct answers, or other illicit aid used by students while reciting, taking exams, or the like; pony.

    • a petty theft.

  4. a room, closet, etc., in a factory or the like, in which tools are kept and issued to workers.

  5. a shallow, separate section of a bathing area, reserved for small children.

  6. any confined space.

  7. Slang. a house, shop, etc., frequented by thieves or regarded by thieves as a likely place for burglarizing.

  8. Building Trades, Civil Engineering. any of various cellular frameworks of logs, squared timbers, or steel or concrete objects of similar form assembled in layers at right angles, often filled with earth and stones and used in the construction of foundations, dams, retaining walls, etc.

  9. a barrier projecting part of the way into a river and then upward, acting to reduce the flow of water and as a storage place for logs being floated downstream.

  10. a lining for a well or other shaft.

  11. Slang. one's home; pad.

  12. Cribbage. a set of cards made up by equal contributions from each player's hand, and belonging to the dealer.

  13. a cheap, ill-kept brothel.

  14. a wicker basket.

  15. British, Australian. lunch, especially a cold lunch carried from home to work and eaten by a laborer on the job; snack.

verb (used with object),cribbed, crib·bing.
  1. Informal. to pilfer or steal, especially to plagiarize (another's writings or ideas).

  2. to confine in or as if in a crib.

  1. to provide with a crib or cribs.

  2. to line with timber or planking.

verb (used without object),cribbed, crib·bing.
  1. Informal.

    • to use a crib in examinations, homework, translating, etc.

    • to steal; plagiarize.

  2. (of a horse) to practice cribbing.

Origin of crib

1
before 1000; Middle English cribbe,Old English crib(b); cognate with Dutch krib,German Krippe;cf. crèche

Other words from crib

  • un·crib, verb (used with object), un·cribbed, un·crib·bing.

Words Nearby crib

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use crib in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for crib

crib

/ (krɪb) /


noun
  1. a child's bed with slatted wooden sides; cot

  2. a cattle stall or pen

  1. a fodder rack or manger

  2. a bin or granary for storing grain, etc

  3. a small crude cottage or room

  4. US informal a house or residence

  5. NZ a weekend cottage: term is South Island usage only

  6. any small confined space

  7. informal a brothel

  8. a wicker basket

  9. a representation of the manger in which the infant Jesus was laid at birth

  10. informal a theft, esp of another's writing or thoughts

  11. Also called (esp US): pony informal, mainly British a translation of a foreign text or a list of answers used by students, often illicitly, as an aid in lessons, examinations, etc

  12. short for cribbage

  13. cribbage the discard pile

  14. Also called: cribwork a framework of heavy timbers laid in layers at right angles to one another, used in the construction of foundations, mines, etc

  15. a storage area for floating logs contained by booms

  16. Australian and NZ a packed lunch taken to work

verbcribs, cribbing or cribbed
  1. (tr) to put or enclose in or as if in a crib; furnish with a crib

  2. (tr) informal to steal (another's writings or thoughts)

  1. (intr) informal to copy either from a crib or from someone else during a lesson or examination

  2. (tr) to line (a construction hole) with timber beams, logs, or planks

  3. (intr) informal to grumble

Origin of crib

1
Old English cribb; related to Old Saxon kribbia, Old High German krippa; compare Middle High German krēbe basket

Derived forms of crib

  • cribber, noun

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