creak

[ kreek ]

/ krik /

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See synonyms for: creak / creaking on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to make a sharp, harsh, grating, or squeaking sound.

to move with creaking.

verb (used with object)

to cause to creak.

noun

a creaking sound.

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Origin of creak

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

creak , creek, croak

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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.
Sarah Waters: Queen of the Tortured Lesbian Romance|Tim Teeman|September 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“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|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.
The Adventure Girls at K Bar O|Clair Blank

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

to make or cause to make a harsh squeaking sound

(intr) to make such sounds while movingthe old car creaked along

noun

a harsh squeaking sound

Derived forms of creak

creaky, adjectivecreakily, adverbcreakiness, nouncreakingly, adverb

Word Origin for creak

C14: variant of croak, of imitative origin

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

creak

Origin of creak

OTHER WORDS FROM creak

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH creak

Words related to creak

How to use creak in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for creak

Derived forms of creak

Word Origin for creak