crib

American  

[krib] / krɪb /

noun

cribs plural

1. a child's bed with enclosed sides.

2. a stall or pen for cattle.

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

4. a bin for storing grain, salt, etc.

5. Informal.

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

   2. plagiarism.

   3. a petty theft.

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

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

8. any confined space.

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

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. a lining for a well or other shaft.

13. Slang. one's home; pad.

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

15. a cheap, ill-kept brothel.

16. a wicker basket.

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

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verb (used with object)

cribs, present (3rd person singular) cribbed, past participle, past cribbing present participle

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

2. to confine in or as if in a crib.

3. to provide with a crib or cribs.

4. to line with timber or planking.

verb (used without object)

cribs, present (3rd person singular) cribbed, past participle, past cribbing present participle

1. Informal.

   1. to use a crib in examinations, homework, translating, etc.

   2. to steal; plagiarize.

2. (of a horse) to practice cribbing.

crib British  

/ krɪb /

noun

1. a child's bed with slatted wooden sides; cot

2. a cattle stall or pen

3. a fodder rack or manger

4. a bin or granary for storing grain, etc

5. a small crude cottage or room

6. informal a house or residence

7. a weekend cottage: term is South Island usage only

8. any small confined space

9. informal a brothel

10. a wicker basket

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

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

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

14. short for cribbage

15. cribbage the discard pile

16. 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

17. a storage area for floating logs contained by booms

18. a packed lunch taken to work

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verb

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

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

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

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

5. informal (intr) to grumble

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cribber
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cribs
  plural

Participles

• cribbing
  present
• cribbed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• crib
  simple
• cribs
  simple
• have cribbed
  perfect
• has cribbed
  perfect
• are cribbing
  progressive
• am cribbing
  progressive
• is cribbing
  progressive
• have been cribbing
  perfect progressive
• has been cribbing
  perfect progressive

Past

• cribbed
  simple
• had cribbed
  perfect
• was cribbing
  progressive
• were cribbing
  progressive
• had been cribbing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will crib
  simple
• will have cribbed
  perfect
• will be cribbing
  progressive
• will have been cribbing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of crib

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

Explanation

A crib is a bed with high sides that babies sleep in. To crib is to cheat, like copying off someone else during an exam. How babyish! A crib is a small, cozy bed that has high sides known as slats. The slats keep the baby from falling out. To crib is different — it means to cheat, especially by copying or stealing information. If you stole an answer key to a test, you cribbed it. If you friend told you the answers to some homework, you cribbed the answers. Cribbing is dishonest.

Example Sentences

Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team received seven call-outs to Crib Goch - a mountain ridge on Yr Wydffa, also known as Snowdon - in Gwynedd in November, with the casualties all being men under 24.

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2025

The account has expanded to include a satirical news site called Crib News Network.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

We walked past a board listing the staff-supplied names of Chili’s conference rooms: Be Our Guest, the Rib Crib, Check Please.

From Slate • Aug. 11, 2025

Crib video shows the toddler in pajamas playing happily as his parents and sister sang “Wheels on the Bus” with his twin brother.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 4, 2024

The justices resolved henceforward to inspect the bakers in their district; and all of them, except Crib, and such as Crib, were glad of it; for honesty never dreads a trial.

From The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain and Other Tales by More, Hannah

Related Words

• bunk
• cot
• rack