creek

¹

[kreek, krik]

noun

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.

Creek

²

[kreek]

noun

plural

Creeks ,

plural

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.

creek

¹

/ 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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• subcreek noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of creek¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of creek¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

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.

see up a creek.

Example Sentences

We were in suburbia, with plenty of open green spaces, woods and creeks.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Responders reached the creek bed Wednesday and “hit it pretty hard today,” Meris said, setting up a safety zone around the site.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The federal flood zone stops short of Kyndall Monroe’s North Carolina house, which is 200 yards away from a creek.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Los Angeles has taken a lot of water from Mono Lake over decades by tapping into creeks that flow into it.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The course passed lakes and circled horse pastures, gravel roads, rocky creeks, mountain vistas and hills so steep you felt you could stretch your hands straight in front of you and touch the ground ahead.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal