crew

A crew is a group of people who work together. Crew can also be used more generally to mean any crowd of people or as a verb to mean to serve as a member of a crew. Crew has a few other senses as a noun and a verb.

The word crew is mostly interchangeable with words like team, squad, or gang. However, crew is the specific term used to mean a cooperative group of people that operates a boat, an airplane, or a spacecraft. In any case, a crew usually has a person who is the leader or the captain. The word crewmember or crewman refers to a single individual within the crew.

• Real-life examples: Boats are operated by a crew of sailors, airplanes are operated by pilots and the rest of the flight crew, and spacecraft are operated by a crew of astronauts. A building might be destroyed by a wrecking crew. A dance crew performs in front of people. Race cars are fixed by pit crews.
• Used in a sentence: The boat was attacked by Captain Kidd and his crew of pirates. 

In this same sense, crew is used as a verb to mean to be a member of a crew.

• Used in a sentence: I have crewed over a dozen boats since I became a sailor. 

Crew can also be generally used to mean any group or crowd of people.

• Used in a sentence: I bought drinks for Jayden and his crew of friends. 

The first records of crew come from around 1425. It ultimately comes from the Latin crēscere, meaning “to grow” or “to arise.”

What are some other forms related to crew?

• crewless (adjective)

What are some synonyms for crew?

• team
• squad
• company
• corps
• gang
• band

What are some words that share a root or word element with crew? 

• crewman
• crew chief
• crew cut

What are some words that often get used in discussing crew?

• boat
• ship
• airplane
• spacecraft
• road
• wrecking
• pit

Crew is a common word that refers to a team or crowd of people.

Cherish this time with your loved ones. On July 27, 1969, our Apollo 11 crew, still in quarantine van, were greeted by wives, through a window, upon arrival at Ellington AFB. #BuzzAldrinforStayingSafe #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/4HAxowYKti

— Dr. Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) April 26, 2020

For sure – although I'd be interested to see if there are any differences in the between-flight time for crewed vs. uncrewed missions

— Matthew Petersen 🇺🇲 (@meptrsn) January 20, 2021

I was just living my best life and bringing my crew along then the internet started being super nice to me. Thanks but what have I done?

— Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) July 31, 2019

True or False?

The word crew is most often used to refer to the teams that operate boats, airplanes, and spacecraft.