creek

[ kreek, krik ]
See synonyms for creek on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. U.S. and Canada. a stream smaller than a river.

  2. a stream or channel in a coastal marsh.

  1. Chiefly Atlantic States and British. a recess or inlet in the shore of the sea.

  2. an estuary.

  3. British Dialect. a narrow, winding passage or hidden recess.

Idioms about creek

  1. up the / a creek (without a paddle), Informal. in a predicament; in a difficult or seemingly hopeless situation: The pension is so small, I'd be up the creek if I had no other income.Don't ask me to navigate, or we'll be up a creek without a paddle in no time.

Origin of creek

1
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English creke, variant of crike, from Old Norse kriki “bend, crook”

Other words from creek

  • sub·creek, noun

Words that may be confused with creek

Words Nearby creek

Other definitions for Creek (2 of 2)

Creek
[ kreek ]

noun,plural Creeks, (especially collectively) Creek.
  1. a member of a confederacy of North American Indians that in historic times occupied the greater part of Alabama and Georgia.

  2. Also called Muskogee. a Muskogean language that is the language of the Creek Indians.

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

How to use creek in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for creek (1 of 2)

creek

/ (kriːk) /


noun
  1. mainly British a narrow inlet or bay, esp of the sea

  2. US, Canadian, Australian and NZ a small stream or tributary

  1. up the creek slang in trouble; in a difficult position

Origin of creek

1
C13: from Old Norse kriki nook; related to Middle Dutch krēke creek, inlet

British Dictionary definitions for Creek (2 of 2)

Creek

/ (kriːk) /


noun
  1. plural Creek or Creeks a member of a confederacy of Native American peoples formerly living in Georgia and Alabama, now chiefly in Oklahoma

  2. any of the languages of these peoples, belonging to the Muskhogean family

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with creek

creek

see up a creek.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.