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• 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.

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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.

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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

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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

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creek More Idioms  

1. see up a creek.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subcreek
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Creek
  plural
• Creeks
  plural
• creeks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of creek

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

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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

“I started on my grandpa’s back, just floating down the creek with a life jacket on,” he told me during a recent phone interview from the Red Rock prison.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

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

He followed her mentally as she left the reserve, swam across the wide waterway, reached the island’s shore, climbed up the bank, crossed the path, disappeared through the trees, and padded beside a twisting creek.

From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins

A scarecrow overlooks a field of corn at La Huerta de Cantua Creek.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

This ongoing Porchfest takes place in Ithaca’s Fall Creek and Northside neighborhoods.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

Thomas the T. rex was excavated from Hell Creek in Montana, a site that also produced ancient crocodilian fossils analyzed by the researchers.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

“My real nest egg is the house I have,” said Hislop, who owns her Battle Creek home outright.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

The people of these “mound builder” civilizations dispersed before the European invasion, but we know their descendants today as the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee Creek, and Natchez Nations of the Southeast.

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

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

He would also spoof President George W. Bush and other political leaders, while remaining close to a Martin Creeks family, the Sabatines, who appeared often in his work.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 28, 2023

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

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

Creeks where Hassan and I skipped stones all spring turned dry, and rickshaws stirred dust when they sputtered by.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

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

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

There could be “life threatening flash flooding of creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses,” the agency said in the warning.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Dixon said she and others who worked in the town’s contaminated creeks developed symptoms like dizziness and rashes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Their preferred rivers and creeks had gone dry from a record drought.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Here there are so many coves and creeks, rivers and small streams, that the land areas are little more than heads or necks of land, almost surrounded by water.

From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry

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