crease
Americannoun
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a ridge or groove produced in anything by folding, heat, pressure, etc.; fold; furrow.
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a wrinkle, especially one on the face.
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the straight, vertical edge or line produced in the front and back of trousers, especially men's trousers, by pressing, as with a steam presser or iron.
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Ice Hockey. the marked rectangular area in front of each goal cage, into which an offensive player can skate only if that player has the puck, if the puck is already within the area, or if the goalie is absent.
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Cricket.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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a line or mark produced by folding, pressing, or wrinkling
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a wrinkle or furrow, esp on the face
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cricket any three lines near each wicket marking positions for the bowler or batsman See also bowling crease popping crease return crease
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ice hockey the small rectangular area in front of each goal cage
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Also called: goal crease. lacrosse the circular area surrounding the goal
verb
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to make or become wrinkled or furrowed
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(tr) to graze with a bullet, causing superficial injury
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slang (often foll by up) to be or cause to be greatly amused
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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creasesimple
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creasessimple
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have creasedperfect
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has creasedperfect
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am creasingprogressive
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are creasingprogressive
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is creasingprogressive
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have been creasingperfect progressive
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has been creasingperfect progressive
Past
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creasedsimple
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had creasedperfect
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was creasingprogressive
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were creasingprogressive
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had been creasingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of crease
1400–50; late Middle English creeste, crest, apparently special use of crest
Explanation
A crease is a fold, wrinkle, or line, like the crease in your perfectly ironed pants or the worried crease in your dad's forehead when he sees you heading out into the snow without a hat and scarf. A crease can be straight and sharp — think of the creases in a folded paper airplane — or something more like a soft indentation, like the crease in your blankets telling you your cat was just there. It's a verb too: "If you lie on the floor, you'll crease your ball gown!" Etymologists guess that crease comes from crest and its root, which means "to turn or bend."
Vocabulary lists containing crease
Mockingbird
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Iveliz Explains It All
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Vocabulary from Readings, Unit 5
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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.
See Examples For:
Minimizing the crease is a priority for Apple, says Naranjo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
During the procedure, an interventional radiology team makes a small incision near the crease of the leg.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026
Two wickets down, next to no runs on the board, Root striding down the steps and stretching at the boundary's edge before sprinting halfway to the crease.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Marner opened the scoring with a spectacular breakaway goal, skating on to William Karlssson’s two-line pass as he entered the offensive zone and beating LaCombe up the center of the ice to the crease.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
He shifts his small body carefully so as not to crease his Sunday clothes.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
Without Sciver-Brunt's experience and calming presence, England's batters look scrambled and they have little time to iron out the creases.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Because while the long hair, the mustache and the Mercedes are all gone, a broad smile still creases the old goalie’s face.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026
Her board was also padded, which reduced damage to fabrics and helped prevent garment creases during ironing, and it was collapsible, enabling easy storage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
"All mammals have a neocortex, but it varies in size and complexity. Human and primate neocortices have folds while, for example, mice have a completely smooth neocortex, without any creases."
From Science Daily ● Mar. 27, 2024
Jonah could tell that Chip had already folded and unfolded it many times: the creases were beginning to fray.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
“No matter what I do, the beds still look a bit creased and worn, even grubby, in pictures.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
Seated beside Milushev, Nikolay Ivanov creased his forehead as he denied any links with Russia.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2025
Khalil’s tired eyes creased at the corners, and a smile spread slowly across his face.
From Slate ● May 2, 2025
That’s like OGs rocking Stacys with the Dickies creased up, Dickies shirt or fully suited up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025
Her bluish face creased with a pressure closing in, the near proximity of the other-than-life that crowds down around the edges of living.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
He prefers reading newspapers over screens, still creasing the pages into a subway fold like he was taught as a child.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026
"We've calmed down," Amfo confirmed, creasing with laughter.
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2024
At this point, both the kids are born, Jimmy and Rosie, and they're at the door, just creasing themselves with laughter.
From Salon ● Feb. 19, 2024
The 43-year-old looks back at that scar, a smile creasing his face.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2023
The next day, Boobie came to the field house with a huge smile creasing his face.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
