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crew1

[kroo]
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noun
  1. a group of persons involved in a particular kind of work or working together: the crew of a train; a wrecking crew.
  2. Nautical.
    1. the people who sail or operate a ship or boat.
    2. the common sailors of a ship's company.
    3. a particular gang of a ship's company.
  3. the people who fly or operate an aircraft or spacecraft.
  4. the team that rows a racing shell: varsity crew.
  5. the sport of racing with racing shells: He went out for crew in his freshman year.
  6. a company; crowd: He and his crew of friends filled the room.
  7. any force or band of armed men.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to serve as a member of a crew on (a ship, aircraft, etc.).
  2. to obtain or employ a crew for (a ship, aircraft, etc.).
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verb (used without object)
  1. to serve as a member of a crew.
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Origin of crew1

1425–75; late Middle English crewe augmentation, hence reinforcements, body of soldiers < Middle French creue, literally, increase, noun use of feminine of Old French creu, past participle of creistre to grow < Latin crēscere; see crescent
Related formscrew·less, adjective

Usage note

See collective noun.

crew2

[kroo]
verb
  1. a simple past tense of crow2.
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crow2

[kroh]
verb (used without object), crowed or for 1, (especially British), crew; crowed; crow·ing.
  1. to utter the characteristic cry of a rooster.
  2. to gloat, boast, or exult (often followed by over).
  3. to utter an inarticulate cry of pleasure, as an infant does.
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noun
  1. the characteristic cry of a rooster.
  2. an inarticulate cry of pleasure.
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Origin of crow2

before 1000; Middle English crowen, Old English crāwan; cognate with Dutch kraaien, German krähen; see crow1
Related formscrow·er, nouncrow·ing·ly, adverb

Synonyms

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2. vaunt, brag.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

corpscrowdcompanybandsquadtroopteamgangsetclustertroupebunchhorderetinueposseswarmlotpartybevyfaction

Examples from the Web for crew

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

British Dictionary definitions for crew

crew1

noun (sometimes functioning as plural)
  1. the men who man a ship, boat, aircraft, etc
  2. nautical a group of people assigned to a particular job or type of work
  3. informal a gang, company, or crowd
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verb
  1. to serve on (a ship) as a member of the crew
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Word Origin

C15 crue (military) reinforcement, from Old French creue augmentation, from Old French creistre to increase, from Latin crescere

crew2

verb
  1. a past tense of crow 2
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Crow

noun
  1. plural Crows or Crow a member of a Native American people living in E Montana
  2. the language of this people, belonging to the Siouan family
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crow1

noun
  1. any large gregarious songbird of the genus Corvus, esp C. corone (the carrion crow) of Europe and Asia: family Corvidae . Other species are the raven, rook, and jackdaw and all have a heavy bill, glossy black plumage, and rounded wingsSee also carrion crow Related adjective: corvine
  2. any of various other corvine birds, such as the jay, magpie, and nutcracker
  3. any of various similar birds of other families
  4. offensive an old or ugly woman
  5. short for crowbar
  6. as the crow flies as directly as possible
  7. eat crow US and Canadian informal to be forced to do something humiliating
  8. stone the crows stone
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Word Origin

Old English crāwa; related to Old Norse krāka, Old High German krāia, Dutch kraai

crow2

verb (intr)
  1. (past tense crowed or crew) to utter a shrill squawking sound, as a cock
  2. (often foll by over) to boast one's superiority
  3. (esp of babies) to utter cries of pleasure
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noun
  1. the act or an instance of crowing
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Derived Formscrower, nouncrowingly, adverb

Word Origin

Old English crāwan; related to Old High German krāen, Dutch kraaien
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

Word Origin and History for crew

n.

mid-15c., "group of soldiers," from Middle French crue (Old French creue) "an increase, recruit, military reinforcement," from fem. past participle of creistre "grow," from Latin crescere "arise, grow" (see crescent). Meaning "people acting or working together" is first attested 1560s. "Gang of men on a warship" is from 1690s. Crew-cut first attested 1938, so called because the style originally was adopted by boat crews at Harvard and Yale.

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Crow

Indian tribe of the American Midwest, the name is a rough translation of their own name, Apsaruke.

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crow

n.

Old English crawe, imitative of bird's cry. Phrase eat crow is perhaps based on the notion that the bird is edible when boiled but hardly agreeable; first attested 1851, American English, but said to date to War of 1812 (Walter Etecroue turns up 1361 in the Calendar of Letter Books of the City of London). Crow's foot "wrinkle around the corner of the eye" is late 14c. Phrase as the crow flies first recorded 1800.

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crow

v.

Old English crawian "make a loud noise like a crow" (see crow (n.)); sense of "exult in triumph" is 1520s, perhaps in part because the English crow is a carrion-eater. Related: Crowed; crowing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with crew

crow

In addition to the idiom beginning with crow

  • crown jewels
  • crow over

also see:

  • as the crow flies
  • eat crow
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.