crutch

American  

[kruhch] / krʌtʃ /

noun

1. a staff or support to assist a lame or infirm person in walking, now usually with a crosspiece at one end to fit under the armpit.

2. any of various devices resembling this in shape or use.

3. anything that serves as a temporary and often inappropriate support, supplement, or substitute; prop.

   He uses liquor as a psychological crutch.

4. a forked support or part.

5. the crotch of the human body.

6. Nautical. Also

   1. a forked support for a boom or spar when not in use.

   2. a forked support for an oar on the sides or stern of a rowboat.

   3. a horizontal knee reinforcing the stern frames of a wooden vessel.

7. a forked device on the left side of a sidesaddle, consisting of two hooks, one of which is open at the bottom and serves to clamp the left knee and the other of which is open at the top and serves to support the right knee.

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verb (used with object)

1. to support on crutches; prop; sustain.

crutch British  

/ krʌtʃ /

noun

1. a long staff of wood or metal having a rest for the armpit, for supporting the weight of the body

2. something that supports or sustains

   a crutch to the economy

3. another word for crotch

4. nautical

   1. a forked support for a boom or oar, etc

   2. a brace for reinforcing the frames at the stern of a wooden vessel

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verb

1. (tr) to support or sustain (a person or thing) as with a crutch

2. slang to clip (wool) from the hindquarters of a sheep

Other Word Forms

• crutchlike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of crutch

before 900; Middle English crucche, Old English cryce (oblique crycce ); cognate with Norwegian krykkja, Danish krykke, German Krücke, Dutch kruk. See crook ¹

Explanation

A crutch is something you lean on when you’re hurt or weak. It can be a physical crutch you use because you broke your leg, or a friend you depend on a bit too much when you’re having a tough time. A medical crutch is a device that helps you walk when you’re injured. A psychological crutch helps you when you need it, or think you do. Medical crutches come in pairs and have soft pads that fit under your arms and handles to help you rest your body weight on them. Other types of crutches fit securely around the lower part of your arm. The Old English root word is crycce, "staff," and the figurative meaning dates from about 1600.

Example Sentences

That Crutch, for all his bluster, is a softy, is a point the series explicitly makes.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2025

Michael Owen Jones, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles, interrogated the subject in his thoughtful 2014 paper “Dining on Death Row: Last Meals and the Crutch of Ritual.”

From New York Times • Mar. 10, 2020

"Music taps into our emotion circuits, which are actually often damaged much, much later in diseases like Alzheimer's than the circuits that support memory for day-to-day activities," says Crutch.

From BBC • May 1, 2019

Even more weirdly compelling is “Foot Cast, Person, Crutch and Santa Claus.”

From New York Times • Oct. 25, 2010

It was the Man with the Crutch who seemed to be standing there in her place, grinning at him—only he could not see the man’s face.

From Doors of the Night by Packard, Frank L. (Frank Lucius)

Related Words

• cane