Showing results for "crew"

• past participle of crow.
• past tense form of crow.

crew

¹ American  

[kroo] / kru /

noun

• crews
  plural

1. a group of persons involved in a particular kind of work or working together.

   the crew of a train;

   a wrecking crew.

2. Nautical.

   1. the people who sail or operate a ship or boat.

   2. the common sailors of a ship's company.

   3. a particular gang of a ship's company.

3. the people who fly or operate an aircraft or spacecraft.

4. the team that rows a racing shell.

   varsity crew.

5. the sport of racing with racing shells.

   He went out for crew in his freshman year.

6. a company; crowd.

   He and his crew of friends filled the room.

7. any force or band of armed men.

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verb (used with object)

1. to serve as a member of a crew on (a ship, aircraft, etc.).

2. to obtain or employ a crew for (a ship, aircraft, etc.).

verb (used without object)

1. to serve as a member of a crew.

crew ² American  

[kroo] / kru /

verb

1. a simple past tense of crow.

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crew ¹ British  

/ kruː /

noun

1. the men who man a ship, boat, aircraft, etc

2. nautical a group of people assigned to a particular job or type of work

3. informal a gang, company, or crowd

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verb

1. to serve on (a ship) as a member of the crew

crew ² British  

/ kruː /

verb

1. a past tense of crow 2

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Grammar

See collective noun.

Usage

What is a basic definition of crew? A crew is a group of people who work together. Crew can also be used more generally to mean any crowd of people or as a verb to mean to serve as a member of a crew. Crew has a few other senses as a noun and a verb. The word crew is mostly interchangeable with words like team, squad, or gang. However, crew is the specific term used to mean a cooperative group of people that operates a boat, an airplane, or a spacecraft. In any case, a crew usually has a person who is the leader or the captain. The word crewmember or crewman refers to a single individual within the crew.

• Real-life examples: Boats are operated by a crew of sailors, airplanes are operated by pilots and the rest of the flight crew, and spacecraft are operated by a crew of astronauts. A building might be destroyed by a wrecking crew. A dance crew performs in front of people. Race cars are fixed by pit crews.
• Used in a sentence: The boat was attacked by Captain Kidd and his crew of pirates. 

In this same sense, crew is used as a verb to mean to be a member of a crew.

• Used in a sentence: I have crewed over a dozen boats since I became a sailor. 

Crew can also be generally used to mean any group or crowd of people.

• Used in a sentence: I bought drinks for Jayden and his crew of friends. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• crewless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• crews
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of crew

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English crewe “augmentation,” hence “reinforcements, body of soldiers,” from Middle French creue, literally, “an increase,” noun use of feminine of Old French creu “grown, increased,” past participle of creistre “to grow,” from Latin crēscere; see crescent

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Explanation

A crew is an organized group of workers. A crew might keep a ship sailing smoothly or pave a road smoothly. Either way, crew implies cooperation among workers. If you're hired as a member of a ship's crew, it will be your job (along with the other crew members), to keep the boat running smoothly, and the passengers happy and well-fed. Crews are usually a group of people who work together on a ship, airplane, or movie — but the word is also a slang term for a group of friends who hang out together — like a crowd or posse.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

crew crews

What’s constantly baffling is how much affection Holmes has for her repugnant husband, no matter how much he twists stories or alienates the film crew.

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026

The spacecraft delivered more than 6,300 pounds of food, essential supplies, and scientific equipment for the Expedition 75 crew.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

“Matt and Steven will work closely together with the actors and crew to fulfill Matt’s vision of the film.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

It was signed by more than 100 current and former cast and crew members, including Dench, Felicity Jones and Kellie Bright, as well as representatives from Equity and the Writers' Guild.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

After a few grumbles from the crew, she added, “Yeah, I didn’t think so. Where are we on the pour?”

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

San Clemente Mayor Rick Loeffler said his city has been preparing ahead of fire season, deploying goats to chomp at brush on hillsides and ensuring a steady water supply is available for crews and helicopters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Cabin cleaning and barf-bag restocking are often handled by third-party cleaning crews, airlines and flight attendants say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Waterford Fire Service said it was alerted to the fire at 05:13 local time and its crews arrived to a well-developed fire at a two-storey house.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Migrants were put on buses and taken to reception centres for police processing, while cleaning crews moved in to clear the esplanade and beach.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

Maybe, once we were good enough, we’d start battling other crews.

From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi

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Related Words

• band
• company
• corps
• crowd
• gang
• squad
• team
• troop

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