creak

[ kreek ]
See synonyms for: creakcreaking on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)
  1. to make a sharp, harsh, grating, or squeaking sound.

  2. to move with creaking.

verb (used with object)
  1. to cause to creak.

noun
  1. a creaking sound.

Origin of creak

1
1275–1325; Middle English creken to croak, apparently back formation from Old English crǣcettan, variant of crācettan to croak

Other words from creak

  • creak·ing·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with creak

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use creak in a sentence

  • In The Paying Guests, the house, which creaks and stands so still and yet so freighted, is almost a character in itself.

  • “I live in a house that creaks, and when I am asleep and hear that groan, it reminds me that I am back in the mine,” said Avalos.

    Chilean Miners Fight Their Demons | Jonathan Franklin | October 10, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • The station building gave sickening creaks; then it toppled with a crash.

    A Lost Hero | Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward and Herbert D. Ward
  • With creaks and groans in every joint the car discharged its six very dusty, very weary occupants.

  • Everything about the place rattles and creaks when the wind is blowing, and it gets inside through all the cracks and holes.

    Heidi | Johanna Spyri
  • "It must be the creaks on the stairs that make it so awfully lonely all of a sudden," argued Flame.

    Peace on Earth, Good-will to Dogs | Eleanor Hallowell Abbott
  • For all her wrinkles and creaks, what a fine vessel she was for the power, to be sure!

    The Syndic | C.M. Kornbluth

British Dictionary definitions for creak

creak

/ (kriːk) /


verb
  1. to make or cause to make a harsh squeaking sound

  2. (intr) to make such sounds while moving: the old car creaked along

noun
  1. a harsh squeaking sound

Origin of creak

1
C14: variant of croak, of imitative origin

Derived forms of creak

  • creaky, adjective
  • creakily, adverb
  • creakiness, noun
  • creakingly, adverb

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