crew

¹

[kroo]

noun

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.

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

[kroo]

verb

1. a simple past tense of crow.

crew

¹

/ 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

verb

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

crew

²

/ kruː /

verb

1. a past tense of crow 2

Grammar Note

See collective noun.

Other Word Forms

• crewless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of crew¹

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; crescent

Word History and Origins

Origin of crew¹

C15 crue (military) reinforcement, from Old French creue augmentation, from Old French creistre to increase, from Latin crescere

Example Sentences

Civil defense crews warned people attempting to return to the north of the enclave from doing so they received confirmation Israeli forces had left.

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When the flight landed, the two cabin crew were taken to a hospital in an ambulance, one on a stretcher.

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Its crew was well compensated: Deckhands earned as much at $175,000 in today’s dollars before bonuses.

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In Dan Chaon’s novel, a pair of psychically gifted twins find a home, of sorts, among a crew of circus freaks.

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Large players hire drilling and fracking crews, which in turn provide a livelihood to an ecosystem of smaller services providers.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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

When To Use

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.