crouch
Americanverb (used without object)
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to stoop or bend low.
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to bend close to the ground, as an animal preparing to spring or shrinking with fear.
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to bow or stoop servilely; cringe.
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
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(intr) to bend low with the limbs pulled up close together, esp (of an animal) in readiness to pounce
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(intr) to cringe, as in humility or fear
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(tr) to bend (parts of the body), as in humility or fear
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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crouchsimple
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crouchessimple
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have crouchedperfect
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has crouchedperfect
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am crouchingprogressive
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are crouchingprogressive
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is crouchingprogressive
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have been crouchingperfect progressive
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has been crouchingperfect progressive
Past
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crouchedsimple
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had crouchedperfect
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was crouchingprogressive
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were crouchingprogressive
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had been crouchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of crouch
1175–1225; Middle English crouchen, perhaps blend of couchen to lie down ( see couch) and croken to crook 1
Explanation
To crouch is to bend your knees, pull your body in, and sit on your heels. This position is called a crouch. You might crouch down to pet a kitten or catch a baseball. The catcher in baseball stands in a low crouch, waiting for the pitch. Little kids might crouch in a closet or under a table when they play hide and seek. People crouch when they’re in a small space or to keep themselves warm. When you’re in a crouch, your body takes up less space. Crouch comes from the French crochir, "become bent or crooked," after the shape of a hook or a croche.
Vocabulary lists containing crouch
Unit 1: Telling Details
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"Raymond's Run"
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From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Rollins hates clichés and signature phrases — ‘licks’ — and refuses to play them,” critic Stanley Crouch wrote in the New Yorker in 2005.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026
Joseph Crouch, 77, finds himself in that situation.
From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026
For instance, that episode’s music guests, Andrae Crouch and Wintley Phipps, are mentioned but not heard.
From Salon • Feb. 22, 2026
In 2010, while at Oxford, she met William Crouch, who was helping to build the effective altruism movement, which tries to apply logic and reason to find the best way to help others.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026
Her giant eyes flickered from Mr. Diggory, to Ludo Bagman, and onto Mr. Crouch.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
