creel

American  

[kreel] / kril /

noun

1. a wickerwork basket worn on the back or suspended from the shoulder, used especially by anglers for carrying fish.

2. a basket made of wicker or other material, for holding fish, lobsters, etc.

3. a trap for fish, lobsters, etc., especially one made of wicker.

4. a framework, especially one for holding bobbins in a spinning machine.

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creel British  

/ kriːl /

noun

1. a wickerwork basket, esp one used to hold fish

2. a wickerwork trap for catching lobsters, etc

3. the framework on a spinning machine that holds the bobbins

4. dialect a wooden frame suspended from a ceiling, used for drying clothes

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Etymology

Origin of creel

1275–1325; Middle English crele, of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

Oban in Argyll also builds a creel tree as part of the town's winter festival.

From BBC • Dec. 3, 2025

These entanglements can involve creel fishing gear or ghost gear - rope and nets that have been lost or abandoned by fishing boats.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2025

Following a biopsy, cancer was found on the right side of the creel fisherman and Airbnb owner's prostate.

From BBC • Dec. 13, 2024

Mark Elder, 26, from Thurso, died when his leg became caught in a rope on the creel boat he was working on and he was pulled overboard.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2023

I remember the smell of crushed ferns in the creel and the delicate sweet odor of fresh damp rainbow trout lying so prettily on the green bed.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

Related Words

• box
• crate