Showing results for "crew"

• past participle of crow.
• past tense form of crow.

crew

¹ American  

[kroo] / kru /

noun

• crews
  plural

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.).

verb (used without object)

1. to serve as a member of a crew.

crew ² American  

[kroo] / kru /

verb

1. a simple past tense of crow.

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crew ¹ British  

/ kruː /

noun

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

crew ² British  

/ kruː /

verb

1. a past tense of crow 2

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Grammar

See collective noun.

Usage

What is a basic definition of 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. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• crewless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• crews
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of crew

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English crewe “augmentation,” hence “reinforcements, body of soldiers,” from Middle French creue, literally, “an increase,” noun use of feminine of Old French creu “grown, increased,” past participle of creistre “to grow,” from Latin crēscere; see crescent

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Explanation

A crew is an organized group of workers. A crew might keep a ship sailing smoothly or pave a road smoothly. Either way, crew implies cooperation among workers. If you're hired as a member of a ship's crew, it will be your job (along with the other crew members), to keep the boat running smoothly, and the passengers happy and well-fed. Crews are usually a group of people who work together on a ship, airplane, or movie — but the word is also a slang term for a group of friends who hang out together — like a crowd or posse.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

crew crews

Aglok MacDonald says that many cast and crew members actually lost weight during the shoot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

Australia is also sending a Cessna Citation aircraft as a guide plane as well as 20 personnel, including pilots, flight crew and paramedics.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

For instance, the crew built the “Nunavut arm,” a jib mounted on a pickup truck’s flatbed to capture wide outdoor shots.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

Investigators haven’t yet determined the cause of the fire, but a hazardous-material crew was on the scene because of the presence of a lithium-ion battery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

Off the coast of Greenland, Kane and his crew were finally rescued by a passing merchant ship and later transferred to the American rescue vessel.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

He said it really helped as fire crews worked "tirelessly" in "challenging circumstances".

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

Both crews were reported safe, with no environmental damage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

The charity previously claimed the council had ignored safety issues they had flagged, such as increased risk to tourists and rescue crews.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

Astronaut John Daniel “Danny” Olivas remembers his crews storing tortillas near the blue Velcro.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

The fire-control crews were soon overwhelmed, and in a matter of minutes the Coventry was listing badly to port.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

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Related Words

• band
• company
• corps
• crowd
• gang
• squad
• team
• troop

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