Jump To:

• creek
  creek

  noun

  a stream smaller than a river.
• Creek
  Creek

  noun

  a member of a confederacy of North American Indians that in historic times occupied the greater part of Alabama and Georgia.

creek

¹ American  

[kreek, krik] / krik, krɪk /

noun

• creeks
  plural

1. U.S. and Canada. a stream smaller than a river.

2. a stream or channel in a coastal marsh.

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

4. an estuary.

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

---

idioms

1. up the / a creek (without a paddle), 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.

Creek ² American  

[kreek] / krik /

noun

• Creeks,
  plural
• Creek
  plural

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.

---

creek ¹ British  

/ kriːk /

noun

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

2. a small stream or tributary

3. slang in trouble; in a difficult position

---

Creek ² British  

/ kriːk /

noun

1. 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

---

creek More Idioms  

1. see up a creek.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subcreek
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Creek
  plural
• Creeks
  plural
• creeks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of creek

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

Explanation

A creek is a stream — like a river, but smaller — and if you grew up in the TV version of rural America, you probably had a creek babbling through your backyard and a dog that looked like Lassie. If you're "up a creek," or "up a creek without a paddle," you've got a problem with no solution in sight. Say you're out in the middle of nowhere, your cell phone battery has just died, and your car won't start. Unless you've got a solar charger or a tow truck comes along, you're definitely up a creek.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

creek Creek Creeks creeks

He fears the project will silt up the creek and Flathead Lake and destroy fish and habitat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

While recording in a park one evening, Jack picks up the sound of a car tire exploding before he sees the vehicle careen off the road and into a creek.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

John Quincy Adams swam in a nearby creek.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

Evans estimates the creek still needs to recover for two to three more years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

“There’s a running creek up there on the left. Do we want to stop?”

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

The flooding also resulted in "significant impacts to infrastructure," destroying footbridges and blocking hikers from crossing Bright Angel Creek, the park service said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

It asked anyone who knew of hikers or backpackers who were in the inner canyon along the Bright Angel Creek corridor on Saturday to get in touch.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

Road closures are in effect on Highway 1 between Little Sur River and Salmon Creek, as are areas of the Los Padres National Forest near the fire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

These included Leverhulmia from the Early Devonian of Scotland, an unnamed hexapod from the Mazon Creek biota of Illinois, USA, and C. praecursor.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

There was nothing like a bridge overLiberty Creek, but there were spots where you could walk across a trail of fallen trees and big rocks to get to the other side.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

Newton and Noss Creeks, Devon – a narrow tidal inlet just off the River Yealm in the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026

Fire crews were starting work on the eastern edge of the Swillup fire Wednesday while drones were expected to check for heat in the Canyon, Three Creeks, Elliot and Swillup fires.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2023

Because the Poarch Creeks are a federally recognized tribe, they have qualified immunity and cannot be sued for developing their land, according to his opinion.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 22, 2023

Not only did it shatter Indian dominance of the Deep South, but the Creeks were forced to cede more than 21 million acres of land in present-day Georgia and Alabama.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 26, 2023

Before leaving Vincennes, Tecumseh informed Harrison that he was traveling south to bring the Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws into the alliance.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

For months, she churned up a rainbow sheen of chemicals in local creeks to show they were still present.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

The sizable farm was previously described as being home to an abundance of wildlife—and also features multiple trails and two year-round creeks that run through the land.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 4, 2026

In March, county Supervisor Katrina Foley told residents the county would halt spraying of herbicides in two creeks near Doheny State Beach.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026

Along the way, the filing said, Allen recorded his appreciation for the changing landscapes, for example writing on his phone that Pennsylvania's woods resembled "vast fairy lands filled with tiny trickling creeks."

From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026

In one way, fishing these creeks required finesse; in another way there was nothing even remotely connected to the fine art of trout fishing about this angling process.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols