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crap

1
[krap]
noun
  1. Vulgar.
    1. excrement.
    2. an act of defecation.
  2. Slang: Sometimes Vulgar.
    1. nonsense; drivel.
    2. falsehood, exaggeration, propaganda, or the like.
  3. refuse; rubbish; junk; litter: Will you clean up that crap!
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verb (used without object), crapped, crap·ping.
  1. Vulgar. to defecate.
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verb (used with object), crapped, crap·ping.
  1. Slang: Sometimes Vulgar. to talk nonsense to; attempt to deceive.
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Verb Phrases
  1. crap around, Slang: Sometimes Vulgar.
    1. to behave in a foolish or silly manner.
    2. to avoid work.
  2. crap on, Slang: Sometimes Vulgar.
    1. to treat badly, especially by humiliating, insulting, or slighting.
    2. to cause misery, misfortune, or discomfort.
  3. crap up, Slang: Sometimes Vulgar. to botch, ruin, or cheapen; make a mess of.
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Origin of crap

1
1375–1425; late Middle English crap chaff < Middle Dutch (not recorded until 16th century) krappe anything cut off or separated
Can be confusedcrap crape crepe crêpe crept
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for crap up

crap

1
noun
  1. a losing throw in the game of craps
  2. another name for craps
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Word Origin for crap

C20: back formation from craps

crap

2
noun
  1. nonsense
  2. rubbish
  3. another word for faeces
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verb craps, crapping or crapped
  1. (intr) another word for defecate
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Word Origin for crap

C15 crappe chaff, from Middle Dutch, probably from crappen to break off

usage

This word was formerly considered to be taboo, and it was labelled as such in previous editions of Collins English Dictionary . However, it has now become acceptable in speech, although some older or more conservative people may object to its use
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for crap up

crap

v.

"defecate," 1846, from one of a cluster of words generally applied to things cast off or discarded (e.g. "weeds growing among corn" (early 15c.), "residue from renderings" (late 15c.), underworld slang for "money" (18c.), and in Shropshire, "dregs of beer or ale"), all probably from Middle English crappe "grain that was trodden underfoot in a barn, chaff" (mid-15c.), from Middle French crape "siftings," from Old French crappe, from Medieval Latin crappa, crapinum "chaff." Related: Crapped; crapping.

Despite folk etymology insistence, not from Thomas Crapper (1837-1910) who was, however, a busy plumber and may have had some minor role in the development of modern toilets. The name Crapper is a northern form of Cropper (attested from 1221), an occupational surname, obviously, but the exact reference is unclear.

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crap

n.

"act of defecation," 1898; see crap (v.). Sense of "rubbish, nonsense" also first recorded 1898.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with crap up

crap up

1

Burden or clutter up, as in Jane crapped up the garden with plastic pink flamingos. [c. 1946]

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2

Ruin or foul up, as in I've really crapped up this speech; can I just start over again? This idiom employs crap in the sense of “defecate.” [Vulgar slang; c. 1950]

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crap

In addition to the idioms beginning with crap

  • crap around
  • crap out
  • crap up

also see:

  • cut the comedy (crap)
  • full of crap
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.