crip

American  

[krip] / krɪp /

noun

Slang.

1. 1. Disparaging and Offensive. a term used to refer to a person who is partially or totally unable to use one or more limbs.

   2. Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive. a term of identity or self-reference used affirmatively by some people with disabilities, especially in academia and activism.

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adjective

Slang.

1. disabled (used in self-reference by people with disabilities, especially in academia and activism).

   I swipe right only on profiles of people who say outright that they are crip.

2. noting or relating to people with disabilities and their experiences, in an affirmative way that challenges ableist norms, assumptions, and exclusions.

   Crip design creates environments that afford use and enjoyment by people with atypical bodies.

verb (used with object)

Slang.

1. to introduce the lived experience and perspectives of people with disabilities into (something) in order to expose and challenge ableist norms and exclusions: The #CripTheVote movement engages with many issues affecting the disability community.

   The university has a disabled writers workshop that encourages authors with disabilities to crip their stories, because representation matters!

   The #CripTheVote movement engages with many issues affecting the disability community.

idioms

1. crip up, to cast a nondisabled actor in the role of a character with a disability, or to play the role of a disabled person when one is not disabled, generally used to convey disapproval of this practice.

   She directed the first major production of Richard III that stars an actor who doesn’t need to crip up for the role.

Sensitive Note

Cripple and its shortened form crip have long been considered offensive words in referring to someone with a mobility impairment. “Disabled person” or “person with a disability” are the currently preferred terms for people who experience difficulty walking or moving, and disability is sometimes extended to include people with some mental conditions, neurodivergence, chronic pain, illness, etc. There are some parallels between the recent revival of the word crip by the disability community and the adoption of queer by the LGBTQ+ community beginning in the late twentieth century. As with queer , when crip is used by people who might formerly have been its target, it can be an empowering, defiant term of self-reference and self-definition. This reclaimed, positive use of crip is most likely to be encountered in academic and activist contexts: crip theory; cripping fashion shows. However, the term is by no means universally accepted within disabled communities, and is regarded as degrading or elitist by some. Furthermore, even those who embrace the use of crip for themselves may be offended when nondisabled people use this in-group vocabulary. Appropriateness all depends on the speaker’s identity, relationship to the subject, and the context of use.

Etymology

Origin of crip

An Americanism dating back to 1915–20; shortening of cripple

Example Sentences

Tennis star Serena Williams made a surprise cameo during rapper Kendrick Lamar's halftime performance at the Super Bowl on Sunday, showcasing her crip walk - a dance move that originated in Los Angeles.

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2025

The crip walk began as a gang dance but has since been adopted throughout hip-hop culture as a celebration of Compton roots.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2021

The ethos of cripple punk is familiar for anyone who’s followed the history of disability rights movements or has encountered the work of crip theorists.

From The Verge • Jul. 27, 2021

It's a prose "crip" version of Carol Ann Duffy's The World's Wife with the same wit and verve, but it goes further, challenging how we understand and look at our own and other bodies.

From The Guardian • Jul. 11, 2013

You big stiff," he cried, "you couldn't take a crip to a hospital, let alone takin' Billy Byrne to the still.

From The Mucker by Burroughs, Edgar Rice