Jump To:

• creek
  creek

  noun

  a stream smaller than a river.
• Creek
  Creek

  noun

  a member of a confederacy of North American Indians that in historic times occupied the greater part of Alabama and Georgia.

creek

¹ American  

[kreek, krik] / krik, krɪk /

noun

• creeks
  plural

1. U.S. and Canada. a stream smaller than a river.

2. a stream or channel in a coastal marsh.

3. Chiefly Atlantic States and British. a recess or inlet in the shore of the sea.

4. an estuary.

5. British Dialect. a narrow, winding passage or hidden recess.

---

idioms

1. up the / a creek (without a paddle), in a predicament; in a difficult or seemingly hopeless situation.

   The pension is so small, I'd be up the creek if I had no other income.

   Don't ask me to navigate, or we'll be up a creek without a paddle in no time.

Creek ² American  

[kreek] / krik /

noun

• Creeks,
  plural
• Creek
  plural

1. a member of a confederacy of North American Indians that in historic times occupied the greater part of Alabama and Georgia.

2. Also called Muskogee. a Muskogean language that is the language of the Creek Indians.

---

creek ¹ British  

/ kriːk /

noun

1. a narrow inlet or bay, esp of the sea

2. a small stream or tributary

3. slang in trouble; in a difficult position

---

Creek ² British  

/ kriːk /

noun

1. a member of a confederacy of Native American peoples formerly living in Georgia and Alabama, now chiefly in Oklahoma

2. any of the languages of these peoples, belonging to the Muskhogean family

---

creek More Idioms  

1. see up a creek.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subcreek
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Creek
  plural
• Creeks
  plural
• creeks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of creek

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English creke, variant of crike, from Old Norse kriki “bend, crook”

Explanation

A creek is a stream — like a river, but smaller — and if you grew up in the TV version of rural America, you probably had a creek babbling through your backyard and a dog that looked like Lassie. If you're "up a creek," or "up a creek without a paddle," you've got a problem with no solution in sight. Say you're out in the middle of nowhere, your cell phone battery has just died, and your car won't start. Unless you've got a solar charger or a tow truck comes along, you're definitely up a creek.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

creek Creek Creeks creeks

Following his confession, Oxford led police beyond a set of railroad tracks, past a church, to a tree stump near the bank of a creek.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

He fears the project will silt up the creek and Flathead Lake and destroy fish and habitat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

While recording in a park one evening, Jack picks up the sound of a car tire exploding before he sees the vehicle careen off the road and into a creek.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

John Quincy Adams swam in a nearby creek.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

“Togbe”—I broke the silence—“you said there’s a creek here, in Tovime!”

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Any trip should involve a hike in Chautauqua Park, or a long, meandering bike ride along the Boulder Creek Path.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

This ongoing Porchfest takes place in Ithaca’s Fall Creek and Northside neighborhoods.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

Carol Breed, who backs the Detroit Lions, considered travelling to Highmark Stadium from her home in Battle Creek, Michigan, after she heard they would play the Canadian national anthem.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The specimen was discovered in 2016 by David DeMar, Jr., a research scientist and the Hell Creek Project collections manager at the University of Washington Burke Museum and co-author of the paper.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

He did not stay on the blacktop but went along the edge, the side toward Burden Creek, walking where there were trees and bushes to hide him.

From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien

Newton and Noss Creeks, Devon – a narrow tidal inlet just off the River Yealm in the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026

Fire crews were starting work on the eastern edge of the Swillup fire Wednesday while drones were expected to check for heat in the Canyon, Three Creeks, Elliot and Swillup fires.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2023

Because the Poarch Creeks are a federally recognized tribe, they have qualified immunity and cannot be sued for developing their land, according to his opinion.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 22, 2023

Intermarriage between Creeks and Whites also further complicated the situation.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 26, 2023

This is evidenced by the customs and devices that were long retained by the Creeks.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Their preferred rivers and creeks had gone dry from a record drought.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

But this year the Rockies had the least snow on record, and they’ve watched springs dry up and creeks dwindle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

Highway 33, at a modest 3.5% grade, meanders over and along creeks that are invisible from the road but marked by riparian vegetation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

The property includes a lodge, a teepee, a basketball court, a number of ponds and creeks, and several hunting areas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Suddenly she longed for a sight of the Eastern Shore with its coves and creeks, thought of the years that had elapsed since she first ran away from there.

From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry