crib

[ krib ]

/ krɪb /

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See synonyms for: crib / cribbed / cribbing on Thesaurus.com

noun

a child's bed with enclosed sides.

a stall or pen for cattle.

a rack or manger for fodder, as in a stable or barn.

a bin for storing grain, salt, etc.

Informal.

a translation, list of correct answers, or other illicit aid used by students while reciting, taking exams, or the like; pony.
plagiarism.
a petty theft.

a room, closet, etc., in a factory or the like, in which tools are kept and issued to workers.

a shallow, separate section of a bathing area, reserved for small children.

any confined space.

Slang. a house, shop, etc., frequented by thieves or regarded by thieves as a likely place for burglarizing.

Building Trades, Civil Engineering. any of various cellular frameworks of logs, squared timbers, or steel or concrete objects of similar form assembled in layers at right angles, often filled with earth and stones and used in the construction of foundations, dams, retaining walls, etc.

a barrier projecting part of the way into a river and then upward, acting to reduce the flow of water and as a storage place for logs being floated downstream.

a lining for a well or other shaft.

Slang. one's home; pad.

Cribbage. a set of cards made up by equal contributions from each player's hand, and belonging to the dealer.

a cheap, ill-kept brothel.

a wicker basket.

British, Australian. lunch, especially a cold lunch carried from home to work and eaten by a laborer on the job; snack.

verb (used with object), cribbed, crib·bing.

Informal. to pilfer or steal, especially to plagiarize (another's writings or ideas).

to confine in or as if in a crib.

to provide with a crib or cribs.

to line with timber or planking.

verb (used without object), cribbed, crib·bing.

Informal.

to use a crib in examinations, homework, translating, etc.
to steal; plagiarize.

(of a horse) to practice cribbing.

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showing self-respect

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Origin of crib

before 1000; Middle English cribbe,Old English crib(b); cognate with Dutch krib,German Krippe;cf. crèche

OTHER WORDS FROM crib

un·crib, verb (used with object), un·cribbed, un·crib·bing.

Words nearby crib

crew sock, CRF, CRH, CRI, cria, crib, cribbage, cribbage board, cribber, cribbing, crib-bite

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use crib in a sentence

Dan Evans, then the team’s assistant GM, was impressed with her smarts—and the fact that she didn’t get flustered when she entered his office and found a spit cloth on his shoulder and his 3-month-old baby napping in a crib.
How Kim Ng, Major League Baseball's First Female GM, Finally Got the Top Job|Sean Gregory|March 3, 2021|Time
Set up the base station within 100 feet of the baby’s crib and Bluetooth technology will transmit pulse rate and blood oxygen levels.
Best baby monitor: How to find the right one for your family|PopSci Commerce Team|January 29, 2021|Popular-Science
Gray lifted her daughter, just shy of two at the time, from her crib, telling her the family was going on a fun trip with the dogs.
The Long-Lasting Mental Health Effects of Wildfires|Jane C. Hu|December 3, 2020|Outside Online
Thinking this was strange, they later put in a video camera and then caught the father and the 19-year-old schoolmate of mine going from crib to crib fondling babies.
He Ain’t Heavy. He’s a Child Molester.|Eugene Robinson|October 20, 2020|Ozy

There’s no assumption of personal privacy in someone else’s crib.
Making Poly Less of a Pain in the Ass|Eugene Robinson|September 14, 2020|Ozy
Others cheated by taking crib sheets to the blackboard with them, concealing them from Jackson but not from the other students.
Stonewall Jackson, VMI’s Most Embattled Professor|S. C. Gwynne|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The American Academy of Pediatrics advocates for infants to be put to sleep in a bare crib to prevent SIDS.
Kids Eat the Darndest Things: Laundry Pods, Teething Necklaces, and More Of The Weirdest Stuff Sending Kids to the E.R.|Russell Saunders|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A bed for people with special needs—essentially a large crib—can cost about $10,000.
The Cost of Raising a Special Needs Son|Elizabeth Picciuto|June 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He is now able to climb out of a regular crib, largely in virtue of his height.
The Cost of Raising a Special Needs Son|Elizabeth Picciuto|June 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After lunch, I put Julia in her crib for a nap, and though she struggled, the excitement of the day took her under.
When An Adopted Child Won’t Attach|Tina Traster|May 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then, kindly and gently, the boy took Squinty over to the place where the corn crib was built on to the barn.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel hath not known me, and my people hath not understood.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
A short time after, while Willy was asleep in his crib, his mamma went out to draw some water.
The Nursery, August 1873, Vol. XIV. No. 2|Various
Among other things, the rhinoceros was knocked so heavily against the bars of his crib that they began to give way.
The Floating Light of the Goodwin Sands|R.M. Ballantyne
Hepzebiah never stirred in her crib, and Jehosophat lay dreaming of something very pleasant.
Seven O'Clock Stories|Robert Gordon Anderson

British Dictionary definitions for crib

crib

/ (krɪb) /

noun

a child's bed with slatted wooden sides; cot

a cattle stall or pen

a fodder rack or manger

a bin or granary for storing grain, etc

a small crude cottage or room

US informal a house or residence

NZ a weekend cottage: term is South Island usage only

any small confined space

informal a brothel

a wicker basket

a representation of the manger in which the infant Jesus was laid at birth

informal a theft, esp of another's writing or thoughts

Also called (esp US): pony informal, mainly British a translation of a foreign text or a list of answers used by students, often illicitly, as an aid in lessons, examinations, etc

short for cribbage

cribbage the discard pile

Also called: cribwork a framework of heavy timbers laid in layers at right angles to one another, used in the construction of foundations, mines, etc

a storage area for floating logs contained by booms

Australian and NZ a packed lunch taken to work

verb cribs, cribbing or cribbed

(tr) to put or enclose in or as if in a crib; furnish with a crib

(tr) informal to steal (another's writings or thoughts)

(intr) informal to copy either from a crib or from someone else during a lesson or examination

(tr) to line (a construction hole) with timber beams, logs, or planks

(intr) informal to grumble

Derived forms of crib

cribber, noun

Word Origin for crib

Old English cribb; related to Old Saxon kribbia, Old High German krippa; compare Middle High German krēbe basket

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

crib

Origin of crib

OTHER WORDS FROM crib

Words nearby crib

Words related to crib

How to use crib in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for crib

Derived forms of crib

Word Origin for crib